The society’s tour to Mayo is on Saturday, 27 July. We will depart the car park in front of St Mel’s Cathedral, Longford, at 9.00am, and go first to the Michael Davitt Museum in Straide. Here we will have a guided tour of the museum, plus a visit to Davitt’s grave and the abbey adjacent to the museum. The next stop will be for refreshments in the Synge and Byrne Café, in the Museum of Country Life, Turlough, Castlebar. We then tour the museum, with public guided tours available at 2.00pm and 3.00pm. We will follow this with a meal at the Gateway Hotel, Swinford. We will be arriving back in Longford at 6.30pm approx. The total cost is €70 per person. Please book with John McGagh, 087 6684791, as soon as possible and no later than 20 July.

County Longford Historical Society will host a lecture on children’s burial grounds known as cillíní, by Prof. Eileen Murphy in Teallach Íosa (The Family Centre), St Mel’s Road, Longford, on Thursday, 6 June at 7.30pm. The placename ‘Killeen’ usually signifies a children’s burial ground and generally it was reserved for those who were unbaptised.

Prof. Eileen Murphy lectures in archaeology in the School of Natural and Built Environment in Queen’s University Belfast. Her areas of expertise include burial practices; childhood in the past; children’s burial grounds; the archaeology of the Irish diaspora; and community archaeology. The lecture is open to all and admission is free.

County Longford Historical Society’s next lecture will be given by Dr Tom Hunt, who will speak about Peadar Cowan, Republican politician. The lecture takes place on Wednesday, 10 April, at 8 pm in Teallach Íosa, St Mel’s Road, Longford.

Peadar Cowan was born near Arva and served in the War of Independence. He was a founding member of Clann na Polachta in 1946, but left the party in 1948 and was an indpendent TD until he lost his seat in 1954. Waterford native, Dr Tom Hunt lives in Mullingar. He is a distinguished sports historian, who has written a major study of sport in Victorian Westmeath. He has also written about sport in 19th century Longford in Longford History and Society. His most recent book is a biography of Peadar Cowan, published in 2021.

Stephen McCracken will give a lecture on ‘Charlotte Brooke and her links with the United Irishmen’ on Wednesday, 20 March, at 8 pm in Teallach Íosa, St Mel’s Road, Longford. Charlotte Brooke was a distinguished writer whose book Reliques of Irish Poetry contains translations of myths and poems from Irish. She died near Newtownforbes in 1793 and is buried in St Paul’s Churchyard. Stephen McCracken is a public historian from North Derry now based in Antrim. He has penned a number of publications and is very active in teaching 18^th century history across the community. He is also a passionate tour guide covering much of the North.

The historical society is delighted to announce that a project to record the field names of the county is being organised. It will be launched at an information event in Longford Library, beginning at 7 pm on Thursday, 29 February. The project was proposed last year by committee member Kitty Hughes. It will be undertaken in partnership with the County Longford Heritage Office, which will fund it as part of its plan for 2024. We thank our Heritage Officer, Máiréad Ní Chonghaile, for her enthusiastic support for the proposal and we look forward to working with her and many others in the county on this exciting project.

Come along to the library on 29th and learn about how you can help!

The 2023 edition of County Longford Historical Society’s Journal, Teathbha, will be launched on Monday evening, 27 November at 7.30 pm in Longford Library. The launch will be performed by the recently appointed Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, Dr Paul Connell. This is the twenty-second edition of the journal and the first to be edited by Martin Morris. The previous editor was James MacNerney, who edited thirteen editions.

As always, Teathbha contains a remarkable variety of articles about Longford’s history, written by established contributors and some new ones. Subjects covered include Inchcleraun Island, the O’Farrells in the medieval period, land and society in the barony of Moydow, the Montgomery family, marching bands, Padraic Colum’s poem ‘A Drover’, the GAA and the elusive Francis McDonagh/Hanlon. There is a piece about a Longford emigrant’s experience in New York and details of Longford holders of American passports a century ago. Recent major centenaries feature, with articles on the establishment of the Civic Guard and the 1923 general election. You can read about the descendants of Richard More-O’Ferrall, reminiscences of a man who helped ‘save’ the 1946 harvest and an account of the first international conference on the Edgeworths’ role in education.

The journal will be available at €12 per copy at the launch and in many local outlets in the run up to Christmas, and is also available to BUY ONLINE.

County Longford Historical Society’s next lecture will take place on Thursday, 23 November at 7.30 pm in Teallach Íosa, St Mel’s Road, Longford. Sean Murphy will speak about the placenames of County Longford, a subject that will be of great interest. Mr Murphy lived in Drumlish in his youth and is a past-pupil of St Mel’s College. He edited the book Drumlish and Ballinamuck: Heritage and History, published in 2019. During the Covid-19 lockdowns, he completed another major book entitled The Townland Names of County Longford. Admission to the lecture is free and all are welcome.

Our next lecture will be entitled ‘Interned. Michael Skelly and the Great Escape from Rath Camp, 1921’ by James Durney. It takes place at 8 pm on Wednesday night, 18 October, in Teallach Íosa (The Family Centre), St Mel’s Road, Longford. James Durney is a well-known local historian in Kildare. He has written several books, mostly on military history.

County Longford Historical Society will host a lecture by Dr Mel Farrell on the 1923 general election on Tuesday, 15 August, at 7.30 pm in Longford Library. The general election of August 1923 was the first to take place after the Civil War and Dr Farrell will explore its national and local significance. A native of Ardagh, Dr Farrell lectures in Carlow College, St Patrick’s, and is an expert on the Irish Free State. The lecture is part of the Heritage Week Programme.