Balbriggan & District Historical Society will be hosting a Quiz Night upstairs in the Milestone Inn on Thursday the 4th of April. Come along and test your wits against your neighbours and friends – and have a good night out. Who knows – it could end in Historic Victory (if only in the raffle!!) Teams of 4, €40 per team Come along at 8pm for an 8.30 start. Spread the word
Category: Events Archive
Balbriggan A History in Maps 1655-1900
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.
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.
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.
A Celebration of the life of Pte. Terence Joseph McMahon 1944-1997
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.
Some samples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU7P7-zxEMI
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
Day Trip – June 24
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.
Historical Walkabouts
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.
Fingal Heritage Network Local History Exhibition at The Atrium, County Hall, Swords
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.
