Month: October 2017

October Talk: More Old Memories of Balbriggan – Speaker May Mckeon

A huge and enthusiastic crowd attended Balbriggan and District Historical Society’s October talk featuring May McKeon and also students from Loreto Secondary School. Former County Councillor May, a longtime member of the Society and current committee member, gave us the second installment of her talk called Old Memories of Balbriggan. Anyone who heard May’s talk this time last year already knew how entertaining she was and were delighted to hear more. Her talk ranged from the serious talking about issues like the importance of the ICA to the women of the town to remembering the various characters and nicknames of the town or the vagaries of the phone system in the 60’s, The stories of confession and some hilarious complaints to the council couldn’t be repeated here!  We were also delighted to welcome some History students from Loreto Secondary School as guest presenters on the night. These students were the winners in a History competition which the Historical Society’s Jim Walsh and Pauline O’Hare judged in the school. The following were the details of the students and their projects:  ‘Jack Rover McCann’ – Hannah Rudden, ‘Rush Church and Library’ – Niamh Daly Alison McGuinness & Rachel Sweetman, ‘History of Newbridge’ – Abbie Hurley. Well done to the five students on their well researched and interesting talks – the future of Historical research is safe.

 

Fingal Heritage Network Culture Night Milestone Inn

The Milestone Inn came alive with the sound of music for the Fingal Heritage Network Culture night on Friday evening 13th of October. Culture Night is an annual event where the various historical societies in Fingal get together for an evening of stories and song and  there were 11 different Societies represented on this occasion.  This was the first year it was hosted by Balbriggan & District Historical Society and we were delighted to welcome the Mayor of Fingal Cllr Mary McCamley to the event  as well as Gerry Clabby Fingal County Council Heritage Officer and Cllrs Grainne Maguire, Tony Murphy and David O’Connor who was one of the excellent performers on the night.

The evening began with tunes from Balbriggan with Sean Kiernan on fiddle and Amy Campbell on the pipes then May McKeon recited Tara by local poet PJ Dillon, whose life she is currently researching. Tony Carton from Lusk and George Hand from Skerries then performed some well loved songs while Paddy Ryan from Malahide provided versions of Irish Mythology from Cú Chulainn to Aoife which we definitely never learned in school!. Fiona Nutty from Garristown brought the first half of the evening to a close with two beautiful evocative poems.

Six members of Rinceoil Ros Eo  from Rush got the 2nd half underway with some rousing tunes and songs followed by some great storytelling from Jim Monks from Lusk. Cllr David O’Connor then treated us to some of his huge repertoire of local songs and, like all the performers, could have entertained all night but time was moving on. Diarmuid OCathaisigh from Howth had everyone in stitches  with his stories about Myles na gCopaleen and all those who took part in the great Mórshiúil on O’Connell Street. Una O Brien from Rowlestown spoke about the rebel poets of 1916 and read some Padraig Pearse poems including the Wayfarer which he wrote in Kilmainham. Bernie Marks and Jim Bennett from Swords ended the evening on a high note with their songs and stories of North Street Swords and Bernie also a sang as Gaeilge a song which she had learned more than 50 years ago which she dedicated to Bernie Kelly Irish language enthusiast in the Balbriggan Society.

 

Mayor of Fingal Cllr Mary McCamley, who braved the inclement weather and some terrible traffic to attend, thanked Balbriggan & District Historical Society for the invitation and praised all the performers on the night for the excellent entertainment, and the societies for the work they do all year round.

Gerry Clabby, Fingal County Council Heritage officer thanked the Balbriggan Committee for hosting the night, the Mayor and other Councillors for attending and all the  Societies who took part and contributed to such a memorable evening. He also praised the work being done by the Societies on an ongoing basis including researching local history, putting on talks programmes, guiding historical walks and running museums and he encouraged the Societies to get involved the process of preparing the Fingal Heritage Plan 2018-2023

Anne Collins, Chairperson said “On behalf of Balbriggan & District Historical Society, I would like to thank the Mayor,  Councillors and Gerry Clabby for attending and the Historical societies both for coming along and performing on the night and for all their help in organising the event.  We would particularly like to thank Damian Reilly for providing the venue and all the staff of the Milestone Inn, for all their help on the night.”

Brian Kavanagh, MC for the night pointed out that “It is fitting that the Fingal Heritage Network Culture Night is in Balbriggan this year as it is the 10th anniversary of the Network’s launch which happened here in Balbriggan in 2007”

There were many witty comments about how much older everyone had got since 2007 as well as poignant reminders of people no longer with us, but what was very clear on the night was that the Heritage Network is going from strength to strength and we can look forward to many more great events like this in the future.

Balbriggan Library Bell returns to its rightful home

The return of the Balbriggan Library Bell was marked by a visit to the library by the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. Mary McCamley on 12th October. Also in attendance on the day were Chief Executive of Fingal County Council Paul Reid as well as Local Councillors Gráinne Maguire, Malachy Quinn and Tony Murphy as well as members of the Balbriggan community.

Local Historian and former Librarian Jim Walsh delivered a presentation detailing the history of Balbriggan library and its Bell. The Balbriggan Bell and clock mechanism was built in 1906 by W.H. Bailey & Co, Salford. The bell was removed from its external position on the building during renovation work in 1980, and was put on display in the Library when it reopened. While the next renovation took place in 2007 the Bell was removed for safe keeping to storage in Swords. As a result of a campaign led by Balbriggan and District Historical Society and The Balbriggan Community Group the bell and clock mechanism have being renovated and returned to its rightful home in Balbriggan Library where it will remain on permanent display.

Speaking about the return of the bell Librarian Patricia Brady said “It is appropriate that the return of the bell coincides with the 10th anniversary of the refurbishment of Balbriggan Library and I would encourage the Balbriggan community to call in and visit Balbriggan Library and see the renovated bell and clock mechanism on display.

 

2016 – An award winning and busy year for Balbriggan & District Historical Society

2016 was a very busy year for Balbriggan & District Historical Society with our usual monthly talks, the 1916 Commemoration and culminating with the launch of their latest publication in November. The series of talks began in March with “A history of the railway halt for the Taylor family of Ardgillan Castle” a talk by David Grundy. The April talk was by Rory McKenna, noted local historian and society member on ‘Nicholas Rath – Albert Medal Recipent 1917’  May was a very busy month commemorating 1916, which in gone into further below. In June Jim Walsh, Chairman of the Society lead a Historical Walk around the town as part of the Summerfest and an enthusiastic group enjoyed the Annual Summer outing which this year was to the GPO 1916 exhibition and a tour of the Fingal Brigade battle sites including Ashbourne. The Society has a role in the restoration of Bremore Castle and was delighted to see the restoration coming near to completion and the Castle open for tours during Heritage Week. They returned in August with a talk from Paddy Boyle -“Irish Volunteers,Balbriggan 1913-1922” about local volunteers among them Jack Gaynor & Mick Rock and also the Sack of Balbriggan by the Black and Tans in 1920. The September presentation was on Michael Collier, alias Collier the Robber, by Community Historian Brendan Matthews .  The October talk was special as it featured a very entertaining speech from  the Society’s own May McKeon on Old Memories of Balbriggan and also short presentations from Loreto Secondary School Students who were prize winners in a competition judged by the Society.

Balbriggan & District Historical Society were delighted to win a prize for our contribution to Culture in Balbriggan at the Balbriggan Town awards in November 2016. Here Anne Collins, Bernie Kelly, Caitriona Chuinneagain, May McKeon and Brian Howley are pictured with the with Deputy Mayor of Fingal Cllr Eithne Loftus at the ceremony.
Balbriggan & District Historical Society were delighted to win a prize for our contribution to Culture in Balbriggan at the Balbriggan Town awards in November 2016. Here Anne Collins, Bernie Kelly, Caitriona Chuinneagain, May McKeon and Brian Howley are pictured with the with Deputy Mayor of Fingal Cllr Eithne Loftus at the ceremony.

The Society’s flagship event for 1916 was “Éirí Amach Na Cásca – Is Cuimhin Linn” a full day History Seminar which took place in the Town Hall on the 7th May 2016. The seminar was opened by Mayor of Fingal Cllr David O’Connor and concluded with readings of Proclamation by local Secondary School students. The seminar featured 5 talks: Bairbre Curtis “Fingal in 1916”, Liz Darcy “Conserving an original 1916 Proclamation”, Jimmy Wren “The 1916 GPO Garrison and the connection with the OTooles G.A.A. Club”, Sean Collins “Observing from afar The Easter Rising Louth and Meath” and Micheál MacMathúna “Sinéad Ni Fhlannagáin (Bean De Valera) Daughter of Balbriggan and 1916” The last talk was timely providing context for Commemorative Plaque honouring Sinéad Ní Fhlannagáin De Valera which was about to be unveiled in the town. The enthusiastic audience enjoyed the excellent talks on both the local and national experience in 1916, and left with lots of new information and an appetite to learn more about this facinating period in our history.

The Society was also centrally involved in the Balbriggan 1916 Commemorative Committee which organised, among other activities, the erection of a Commemorative Plaque honouring Sinéad Ní Fhlannagáin De Valera. This Plaque was unveiled as part of a Commemorative day which included a Mass and Parade featuring the Fingal Old IRA, locals scouts and guides and the local community. May McKeon performed the duty of MC on the day, Gráinne Maguire read the Proclamation, and speakers included Mayor of Fingal Cllr David O’Connor, Mícheál MacMahúna, and Éamon Ó Cuív TD, grandson of Sinéad and the Plaque was unveiled by Nora Ní Chuív her granddaughter. It was a memorable and important day for Balbriggan and it was great to see so many of the DeValera and Flanagan family members there who were delighted to share with us their personal memories of Balbriggan. The event was attended by a large enthusiastic crowd and the Plaque will be a lasting physical reminder of the occasion.

A busy year came to a end with the launch by Mayor of Fingal Cllr Darragh Butler of the Society’s latest publication “Balbriggan a History in Maps 1655-1900” by Peter(Frank) Whearity, on the 9th of November in the Town Hall, Balbriggan. The book, which charts the development of Balbriggan from a population of only 30 in 1659 to the beginning of the 20th century, was enthusiastically received by the large crowd in attendance. Peter (Frank) Whearity is a native of Balbriggan and holds a BA (Hons) in Local Studies, and an MA in Local History from Maynooth University. Through a comprehensive study of maps (beautifully reproduced in this publication) and using information from other sources, Frank charts 250 years of the development of Balbriggan. This book will be a great resource for anyone interested in the history of the town as it brings to life the history of Balbriggan and it’s hinterland encapsulating themes such as religion, architecture, education, legal, proprietorial status, and the rich industrial & maritime heritage.

History Seminar Eirí Amach na Cásca -Is Cuimhin Linn and 1916 Commemorative Day Balbriggan – May 1916

“Balbriggan & District Historical Society held it’s Commemorative Seminar Éirí amach na Cásca Is Cuimhin Linn on Saturday 7th May. The day opened with a welcome from President of the society Tony McNamara and then was launched by Mayor of Fingal Cllr David O’Connor, a long term supporter of our society, who praised the varied programme and reminded us that he would be back in Balbriggan for the unveiling of the Sinéad Ní Fhlannagáin De Valera plaque on Sunday.

We then enjoyed 5 brilliant talks both on the local and national experience in 1916. Bairbre Curtis  spoke about The 1916 Rising in Fingal, The Fingal Brigade and the employment and military situation in Balbriggan at the time which would have discouraged people from getting involved, at least publicly. Liz D’Arcy took us through the painstaking skilled process in conserving an original copy of the Proclamation.  The results of her work on the Proclamation donated by the family of Elizabeth O’Farrell to Dublin City Archives is on display in City Hall at present.  Jimmy Wren, Author of The GPO Garrison Easter Week 1916, told the story of many of these men in his talk , including Mayo born Charles McMahon who  served in the GPO aged 11, was shot in the head in 1921 during the war of Independence, then went on to win an All Ireland Hurling Medal with Dublin in 1938.

The afternoon began with excellent speaker Sean Collins on the topic of The Easter Rising in Louth and Meath, and the Francis Ledwidge poem about it which he wrote while serving with the British Army in WW1. As with everywhere else  difficulties in communication and confusion over countermanding orders played a huge part in the story. The last talk was d Sinéad Ní Fhlannagáin( BeanDeValera), daughter of Balbriggan and 1916 by Micheál MacMathúna. Micheál has done comprehensive research on her life, her devotion to the Irish Language, and her writings but in this talk he concentrated on what her life was like in the 1916 period,  when her husband was fighting or in jail or in America, which he was for much of the time. Three of her children were sent to live with their aunt in Balbriggan for a year from 1916 to 1917. A brilliant day concluded with the reading of the Proclamation from local students Ruth Guildea and Daniel ODriscoll. The enthusiastic audience enjoyed the excellent talks on both the local and national experience in 1916, and left with lots of new information and an appetite to learn more about this facinating period in our history.

A busy weekend continued with 1916 Commemorative Mass, Procession and unveiling of the Plaque to Sinéad Ní Fhlannagáin deValera in Quay Street on Sunday.  Committee members of the Historical Society  Jim Walsh, Anne Collins, Bernie Kelly and May McKeon were delighted to be part of the Balbriggan Liaison Commemorative Committee along with Cllrs Malachy Quinn and Gráinne Maguire,  involved with planning this and other events during the week. We would like to thank Micheál MacMathúna for his assistance with the wording of the Plaque and Patrick Hickey for  it’s design.  May performed the duty of MC on the day, Gráinne Maguire read the Proclamation, and speakers included Mayor of Fingal Cllr David O’Connor, Mícheál MacMahúna, and Éamon Ó Cuív TD, grandson of Sinéad.  The Plaque was unveiled by Nora Ní Chuív granddaughter. It was  a great day thanks to Fr Eugene, St. Patrick’s Brass and Reed Band, Fingal Old IRA, local Scouts and girl guides and brigíns and most importantly the people of Balbriggan. It was  a memorable and important day for Balbriggan and it was great to see so many of the DeValera and Flanagan family members there who were delighted to share with us their personal memories of Balbriggan. The event was attended by a large enthusiastic crowd and the Plaque will be a lasting physical reminder of the occasion.