Balbriggan a History in Maps 1655-1900 by Peter(Frank) Whearity, published by Balbriggan & District Historical Society, was launched by Mayor of Fingal Cllr Darragh Butler on the 9th of November 2016 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.
| MONTH | SPEAKER | TITLE |
|---|---|---|
| March | Jim Walsh | The History of Saints Peter and Paul Church |
| April | Martin Fanning | Balbriggan Past and Present, p,lus Sarah Murphy & Deirdre Cleary from Loreto Secondary School |
| May | Frank Whearity | The maps of Balbriggan (Part 2) |
| August | Francis Devine | The 1913 Lockout and its impact on North County Dublin |
| September | David Sorenson | National School Teaching in Balbriggan 1831-1900 (Part 1) |
| October | David Grundy | Our Silent and Forgotten Guests - WWI Royal Navy Burials in Fingal and Locality |
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
“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.
In this talk by Dr David Doolin from neighbouring Lusk he shared his in depth knowledge of the Fenian Brotherhood in America and the meticulous planning of the invasions of Canada in 1866 and American British relations at the time. There were so many questions from the floor we could have stayed there for hours.This year marks the 150th Anniversary of the Fenian rising so it was timely to focus on this organisation which played a huge role in both national and international history. This talk focused on their invasions of Canada in 1866 and their importance in Canadian and US history.
Dr. David Doolin has taught courses in American, European, and Irish history at University College Dublin (UCD), Maynooth University, and the American College Dublin since his return to Ireland in September 2014, after spending the previous decade in the United States. His research and teaching focuses on both Ireland and America with a focus on the Irish in America, Irish American identity, the Fenian Brotherhood, American immigration, the American Civil War era, and aspects of American Empire and America at war.
This talk will be based on his book Transnational Revolutionaries: The Fenian Invasion of Canada 1866 where he investigates the significance of militant Irish Revolutionary nationalists, who managed to flourish in the United States during and immediately after the American Civil War, and the complexities of an Irish-American identity as an ethnic-American category, by taking a closer look at what is arguably a somewhat forgotten historical event. This book was was published in 2016, to coincide with the 150th year anniversary of that event and was launched by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Críona Ní Dhálaigh, in the presence of the Canadian Ambassador to Ireland, Kevin Vickers at Dublin’s Mansion House.
In 2020 the Centenary of the Sack of Balbriggan will take place and Balbriggan & District Historical Society are planning a series of events in the lead up to this. We would like to see further research done on this topic in the next few years and to that end we hosted a half day seminar, in association with Balbriggan Library, on how to do Historical Research.
The following were the speakers:
Brian Gallagher who has recently published a teenager’s historical novel Pawns, set during the Sack Of Balbriggan
Íde Ní Liathain, Balbriggan Library who will speak about the resources Fingal Libraries have for research
Brendan Matthews well known Community Historian who has published a book on the Sack of Balbriggan. He will give a general overview of the Sack and topics for further research and will bring along primary sources, such as newspaper clips to the talk.
The wealth of information to be found in newspapers was stressed by Brendan Matthews, particularly in relation to what else was happening in the period that you were researching, or how you could follow a thread from one snippet in a paper to checking the census etc. Ide illustrated the many resources available in the Library such as the many journals available on Jstor or the information you could research at home on sites such as http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/ If you have some family connection with the Sack of Balbriggan or any other local history, or if you are interested in how to learn about it, be sure to get in touch and we will help you research it further.
For our August talk we were delighted to have such an interesting topic from this excellent speaker. Sinead McCoole is a well known historian who has written extensively in the area of modern Irish History with a focus on the role of women, her books include A Life of Lady Lavery, Guns and Chiffon, No Ordinary Women and Easter Widows -the untold story of the 1916 Rising. As a Curator she has worked on exhibitions on Irish history and Irish Art which have toured Ireland as well as being on show in Northern Ireland, the US and Africa.
She has scripted a number of documentaries including Who is She?, Women of 1916, Guns and Chiffon and a Father’s Letter. In 2012, the Irish Government selected Sinéad as one of 10 historians to serve on an Expert Advisory Group for the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2022. For her Balbriggan talk, as well as looking at the national context, she spoke about local women including Sinéad Ní Fhlannagaín, De Valera and Molly Adrien and the sad death of Muriel McDonagh in Skerries.
On Saturday July 15th 2017 Balbriggan & District Historical Society hosted a Commemoration in honour of Pte. Terence Mc Mahon from Balbriggan who took part in the Siege of Jadotville in the Congo in 1961 at the age of just 16. The heroic efforts of the 155 soldiers of A Company 35th Battalion UN forces who held out against an opposition force of more than 3000 has been used as a case study for foreign armies but has only recently been acknowledged at home.
The really moving occasion, attended by a large crowd, commenced with a Commemorative Mass at St. Peter & Paul’s Church celebrated by Fr. Eugene Taaffe PP assisted by Fr. Anthony Gill and Fr. Liam Cuffe, son of Jadotville veteran Sgt Geoffrey Cuffe. with Irish United Nations Veterans Association Colour party in attendance. After Mass there was a parade to George’s Square where a Commemorative Plaque was unveiled by Mayor of Fingal Cllr Mary McCamley with Irish Defence Forces in attendance.
May McKeon spoke about her own memories of Terry as a boy growing up in Balbriggan and of her amazement when she heard the story of his involvement at Jadotville from his brother Anthony. When Terry returned home he never spoke about these events as they were ordered not to and even his own family didn’t know of his heroic past until recent years. Anthony praised the work of Jadotville Veteran John Gorman in campaigning to get their story told and Cmmt Leo Quinlan, son of Cmmt Pat Quinlan who commanded the troops at Jadotville gave an excellent talk on the Siege and on the campaign for recognition. It was poignant that among the many Defence Forces and UN veterans in attendance was Mick Dunne who himself was Veteran of Jadotville. Balbriggan & District Historical Society would particularly thank George Kirwan from the United Nations Veterans Association who spoke on the day, for all his help leading up to the event.
Before unveiling the plaque, Mayor of Fingal Mary McCamley said “It’s fitting that we have come together today to remember Terry, here in George’s Square where he was born and raised. It’s so important that we remember the contribution of Irish soldiers who have served with UN missions across the world.”
This was a fitting tribute to Terence and an important day for his native Balbriggan and his extended family, particularly his brothers John and Anthony and sister Julia, who travelled from America for the occasion. Balbriggan & District Historical Society would like to thank everyone, too numerous to mention who attended and assisted on the day to make this such a great occasion and acknowledge the generous support for this project from Fingal County Council and Heritage Officer Gerry Clabby.
For further information check out the film The Siege of Jadotville on Netflix which tells the story. Or check out the many links on YouTube that show actual footage or interviews in relation to the Siege.
Irish Troops in the Congo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9ZAAxeXk8s&t=226s
The Siege of Jadotville Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_JHsiQTTmg
A great day was had on our day trip on June 24th. Thanks to Brian Howley snd Caitriona Chuinneagain for all their organisation.
Our first stop was in Dowth where we heard all about this historic area from our guide for the day Colin Byrne and visited the grave of John Boyle O’Reilly. We then visited Oldbridge House and the Battle of the Boyne site including the beautiful gardens where we were given an excellent talk on this historic battle. This is well worth a visit. On our walking tour of Drogheda we discovered some unique memorials in St Peters Graveyard and visited the impressive St Laurence Gate while Colin shared the facinaring history of Drogheda. The day finished with a beautiful meal in The Glenside.
2017 marks the 100 anniversary of the Russian Revolution so it was appropriate that we marked this with a talk in our schedule. It is always interesting to look at world events in an Irish context and our talk also focussed on Irish labour history of the era.
Our speaker was Padraig Yeates who is very well known as a social and labour Historian as well as a publicist, journalist and trade union activist. His book Lockout is considered the standard work on the great Dublin labour dispute of 1913. He is also author of the acclaimed A City in Wartime, A City in Turmoil and A City in Revolution.
This was a great opportunity to hear this well known speaker in a local setting giving a very interesting talk on the Labour Movement in Russia, Ireland and Europe in general in that period. It was interesting to hear about Irish Soviets like the Limerick Soviet in 1919 and the importance of the transport workers refusal to handle British troops and weapons in 1920.
We were delighted to welcome the Old Dublin Society to Balbriggan on May 20th Jim Walsh led them on a very informative and enjoyable Historical walkabout. Then we finished up the day with some beautiful cakes in The Brick Room. We also had our usual walkabout as part of the Summerfest on Saturday 3rd June. A torrential downpour just before we were due to start didn’t deter the hardy historians and an enjoyable walk was led as usual by Jim Walsh, this year starting from the Sinéad Ní Fhlannagáin plaque which we helped organise as part of the 2016 commemoration. Looking forward to 2067 we contributed some memorabilia to the Time Capsule which was buried as part of the Summerfest and will be opened in that year.
Brian Howley, accompanied by Bernie Kelly and Anne Collins led a very enjoyable Historical walk with the enthusiastic young members of the Balbriggan Scouts 34th/161st cubs group on September 19th. Their were plenty of questions as Gaeilge as well as in English and they were delighted with our bilingual answers.
Our April talk was about a figure many are more familiar with after the 1916 Commemorations in Fingal last year as he was the leader of the Fingal Brigade, whose success at the Battle of Ashbourne was one of the few in 1916. But there was much more to Thomas Ashe’s life when he moved from Kerry to Fingal and taught in Corduff National School and founded the Black Raven Pipe Band as well as Round Towers GAA club.
This talk was presented by Brian Arnold, a native of Corduff, Lusk, where he attended Corduff National School. Ashe has a personal interest for Brian as in 1908 Thomas Ashe became a Principal of this small two room school, his first introduction to Corduff and Lusk. Brian is now the Chairperson of Lusk Community Council. The Community Council has highlighted the importance of Ashe in the community and on the national stage for many years and it is planning a series of events in 2017 to commemorate the legacy of Thomas Ashe. Brian designed an exhibition on The Life and Times of Thomas Ashe in 2010 and edited a special 1916 publication titled “Lusk and The 1916 Easter Rising”.
Members of heritage groups and historical societies from across Fingal gathered on Wednesday 19th April at County Hall to launch a Local History Exhibition. The exhibition presents a snapshot of heritage across the county and showcases the work of local heritage groups and societies. Groups and societies are active in holding annual lecture series, in running museums, in documenting oral history, in undertaking original research and publishing books, to mention just some of the many activities undertaken. Balbriggan & District Historical Society were delighted to showcase our Society at this exhibiton with photographs of the Sack of Balbriggan and also the commemoration of it’s 50th anniversary. Our exhibition also contained some memorabilia in relation to Terence McMahon who was a hero of the Siege of Jadotville and also some photographs from our activities in 2016.
We would like to thank everyone who came to our Quiz in the Milestone on March 23rd and particular thanks to Damian Reilly and everyone at the Milestone for providing the venue. A great night was had and we were delighted with the turnout with 13 tables. Congratulations to our winners Richard Long, Mary McGrath, Emer Mallon and Elaine Caffrey, and runners up Jim Walsh, Pat O’Rourke, Margaret Cluskey and Frances Brady. Well done to Quizmaster Brian Kavanagh, and huge thanks to May McKeon who organised all the prizes which were kindly sponsored by Supervalu and to Denise Richardson, Kilian Harford and Fiona Kavanagh for all their work on the night.
