It would greatly facilitate keeping the list up to date and clear of outdated notices, if contributor’s would add
a ‘valid until date’
at the end of their title rather than inside their hyperlinks
As usual any information you wish to have displayed here should be sent to Larry Breen PRO Federation of Local History Societies. email larrybreen8@outlook.com
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Events from around the country
Co Dublin – Irish Family History Association
IFHS Talk: How to put all your family history into one paper book – a do it yourself guide #2 Feb 17 @ 19:30 – 20:30 on Zoom
Following on from his November talk (part 1), Michael Foley will give a presentation on how to bring all of your family research – the records, the stories, the family trees, and the photos together into a beautiful book – the story of your family that you can hold in your hand and share with your family. It’s easier and cheaper than you think, made with standard Word and PowerPoint software, and printed in your local print shop. If you can type with two fingers you can do it!
Free to members, Non-Members €5 via the shop on our website www.ifhs.ie
(2) AE George Russell Society
Dear members and friends,
Here are some upcoming dates for your attention:
4 March, 7pm, United Arts Club: Centenary commemoration of Susan Mitchell (1866-1926), poet, mystic of the Irish Cultural Renaissance, colleague of AE and one of the first professional female journalists in Ireland.
9 March, 8pm, Online presentation on “AE’s Poetry” by Michael McKernan of the AE George Russell Society of Lurgan and North Armagh and editor of The Poetry of George Russell (AE): A Modern Selected Anthology
10-11 April, Aonach Mhacha, Armagh: Spring School
1-5 July, Dublin Gael Linn, United Arts Club and other venues: Summer School
July, launch of Journal of AE Studies – First drafts of proposed articles must be sent to the editor by 31st March at this email address: patrick.o’donnell@normandale.edu
The Arts Office is preparing a new Arts Plan 2026-2030 which will set out the direction, priorities and goals that will guide our work into the next decade. Public consultation meetings will take place in each of our five Municipal Districts and we are also asking people to contribute to an online survey. The survey is short, with 11 questions and will be open until 28 February.
Co Cork – West Cork History Societies – Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events The following events are happening in the coming week
Hi All,These are the events occurring in the coming week:
Monday, 9th February @ 7:00pm in the Ballincollig Rugby Club, Muskerry Local History Society presents ‘Ballincollig & Cork in the Emergency (World War II)’ by Noel McCarthy.
Monday, 9th February @ 8:00pm in the Castle Hotel, Macroom History Group presents
‘The French landings in Cork that never were, 1900-1904 & 1922; A European tour in the intelligence archives’, by Dr. Jérôme Aan de Wiel, UCC.
Monday, 9th February @ 8:00pm in Scoil an Chroí Ró Naofa (Primary School), Castletownbere, Beara Historical Society presents Dr Geraldine Osborne, author of Somewhere Cold, speaking about her time working as the Medical Officer of Health in Iqaluit, Canada from 2001 to 2013.
Some advance notice of talks for the following week.
Wednesday, 18 February @ 8:00pm in West Wing 5, UCC
Cork Historical & Archaeological Society presents
‘The new courthouses and prisons of early nineteenth-century South Munster’ by Dr Richard Butler.
Thursday, 19 February @ 8:00pm in the Celtic Ross Hotel Rosscarbery & District History & Heritage Society presents ‘Naomh Ciarán of Cape Clear: Ireland’s First Saint?’ by William Casey
I am delighted to announce the launch of the Cork Jewish Digital Archive coming up on 12th February at 4pm in Cork Public Museum. This wonderful digital archive of my 8 years of research into Cork’s Jewish history includes oral histories, essays, poems, stories and photos from over 50 members of the Cork diaspora and their descendants, as well as Cork locals who fondly remember their Jewish neighbours from years gone by (1880s onwards). Councillor Kieran McCarthy will launch the archive at Cork Public Museum and guest speakers are Liz Kiely of Oral History Network of Ireland, historian Tom Spalding, and musician/researcher Ruti Lachs. There will be music and light refreshments. To book a place at the launch. please contact the museum 021 427 0679 or museum@corkcity.ie. Thanks to Cork City Council Heritage Office, Cork Public Museum, and the Jewish Historical Society of England for supporting creation of the archive.
(3) Co Donegal – 2026 Micheal O Cleirigh Summer School
Co Donegal – The 2026 Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Summer School8th to 10th May 2026
Friday 8th May – Cultural programme Saturday 9th May – Academic programme Sunday 10th May – History tour to local area of interest.
Please let us know if you wish to have your details removed from our mailing list.
Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Summer School 8th to 10th May 2026 Friary Hall, Rossnowlagh, Co. Donegal
(4) Request for Speakers
We are looking for possible speakers on the topics of historical emigration
Anyone interested should contact
Larry Breen, e-mail : larrybreen8@gmail.com
(1) Co Cork – Launch of Cork Jewish Digital Archive
see link below
We at Cork Public Museum invite you as key contributors to celebrate the launch of the newly acquired Cork Jewish Community Digital Archive on Thursday 12th February 2026 at 4.00 pm at Cork Public Museum, Fitzgerald Park, Mardyke Walk, Cork, T12 V0AA. The event is officially launched by Cork City Council’s Cllr Kieran McCarthy and Special Guest Speakers Ruti Lachs and Liz Kiely.
link below https://mcusercontent.com/e5e3dfd4c12216d7e548edf06/images/78232d2b-0b55-92d7-55aa-5e5516f96efe.png
“Echoes of the Isles” is a Digital Heritage Age and Art project led by Gary Dempsey that digitally captures Ireland’s island communities, preserving their buildings, stories, and seascapes. It blends photogrammetry, oral history, and art to create an immersive, enduring record of fragile Island heritage. The project was funded by the Heritage Council’s Heritage Strategy Fund 2025 and includes artwork by Róisin Doherty and John Flynn. Gary will talk about his work on the Echoes of the Isles project focusing on the coastal islands of Galway, before discussing his work on the Digital Atlas of Early Irish Carved Stone (DAEICS) and Og(h)am Project, which included digital surveys on Inchagoill, Lough Corrib. This will include a presentation of digital scanning of the archaeology of the Island, and how Inchagoill fits within the wider 12th century architecture of Connacht.
Gary Dempsey is a digital archaeologist and heritage specialist, and the founder of Digital Heritage Age (DH_Age). He lectures at ATU Galway in heritage, animation, and game design, with a focus on digital documentation and medieval Irish stonework. Trained in Heritage Studies, Irish Studies, and Heritage Visualisation, he works at the intersection of archaeology, technology, and public engagement. His projects centre on making built heritage accessible through photogrammetry, laser scanning, and community engagement.
Federation of Local History Societies
2026 UK Trip to North West England “A Tale of Three Cities” Liverpool, Manchester and Chester
Date: Sunday 3rd May – Thursday 7th May 2026
This year we plan to visit the area spending a day in each city location, travel Ferry Dublin Holyhead return, own coach for 5 days, staying at the 4 Star Holiday Inn in Haydock.
Promises to be a most interesting visit with much to explore.
Further details to follow in the next few weeks.
(3) Co Dublin – Irish Family History Society – Zoom Talk
Irish Family History Society Talk: DNA Next Steps – Confirming your DNA matches using your chromosomes Jan 20 @ 19:30 – 20:30
We welcome back Martin McDowell. Martin is the education officer for the North of Ireland Family History Society and an organiser of their annual DNA Summer School. He is a project administrator for three DNA projects and regularly delivers genealogy and DNA talks to a variety of groups, including local history societies, faith groups, and educational organisations. He also works alongside local government and private companies to deliver a series of genealogy and DNA-related projects across Northern Ireland.
This talk is a follow up to his hugely popular introductory talk last June. Now you have your DNA results, what tools can you use to help interpret them? This talk will focus on the use of chromosome browsers.
This talk will be presented over Zoom and members are required to register by email request to info@ifhs.ie. Zoom link will issue 24-48 hrs before the talk.
Non-members must register via our shop and pay €5 to attend.
The AE George Russell Society is delighted to invite you to the Inaugural AE George Russell Dinner, taking place on Friday, January 30th at 7:00pm, in the United Arts Club, 3 Fitzwilliam St Upper, Dublin 2.
This special evening will celebrate the life and legacy of one of the club’s founding members, AE George Russell, with an illuminating programme:
Speakers Declan Kiberd and Michael McKernan
AE’s poetry to music performed by Remco
Guests will enjoy a three-course dinner, featuring:
Starter: Smoked Salmon
Main Course: Cod
Dessert: Panna Cotta
Vegetarian option available
For further details, please contact the United Arts Club office on 016611411 or by email at office@unitedartsclubdublin.co
—
AE George Russell Society
(3) Co Galway – Western Family History Association – AGM
AGM of the Western Family History Association, Wednesday, 21st January 2026,
The Western Family History Association (WFHA), based in County Galway, is a self-help genealogy group that supports people researching their family history through regular talks, workshops and events. Meetings and talks take place on the second Wednesday of every second month in Lackagh Parish Centre (H65 EK52).
The Annual General Meeting of the Western Family History Association will be held on Wednesday, 21st January 2026, at 8:00 p.m. in Lackagh Parish Centre. New members are always welcome, as are those who wish to become involved in the working committee of the Association.
Following the AGM, founding member Paul O’Donnell will deliver a talk highlighting the humorous side of family history – an engaging and entertaining look at the lighter moments uncovered in genealogical research.
All are welcome to attend.
(4) Co Clare – Waterways Ireland – Community Heritage & Biodiversity Grant Scheme 2026
Happy New Year all,
For those of you whom I meet regularly, I am very appreciate of your support and contact in 2025 and for those of you whom I haven’t had the pleasure of working with yet, perhaps 2026 may present some opportunities to collaborate.
In the meantime, I am taking the liberty of forwarding you a link to our Heritage & Biodiversity Community Grant Scheme 2026 Waterways Ireland Community heritage and biodiversity grant scheme 2026 which was launched in November and the closing date is the 31st January 2026. We are hosting an Information Webinar on the Grants Scheme on Wednesday 21st January from 19:00 to 20:30 and this can be accessed at the following link: Join the meeting now
I would be grateful if you could circulate this information to your relevant networks if you have not done so already. Please feel free to give me a call if you have any queries and I look forward to seeing all the interesting projects in your areas in the coming months. Thanks so much in advance!
Kind Regards
Martina McCarthy
Heritage Officer
WATERWAYS IRELAND
Dock Road, Drewsborough,
Scariff, Co. Clare, Ireland.
Mobile: +353(0)87-4769743
(5) Co Galway – Talk – History Ballinasloe Library Building
Ballinasloe Library will host a special talk on Saturday, January 24th at 2.30pm exploring the history of the library building. Librarian and local history enthusiast Abbie McGowan will present her research and launch a new oral history project.
The library building previously served as St Gabriel’s Convent and St Joseph’s Reformatory and Industrial School before its redevelopment as a modern public library. Abbie developed an interest in the building’s past while working there as a library assistant and has since undertaken extensive research drawing on contemporary newspaper accounts, school inspector reports, civil records, Petty Sessions documentation, and surviving Workhouse material. Her lecture will offer an overview of life in Ballinasloe from the years following the Great Hunger through to the early twentieth century, explaining the building’s role in the life and development of the town.
The accompanying oral history project aims to preserve the informal and personal histories associated with the building. As the industrial school closed in 1968, the remaining first-hand accounts are increasingly at risk of being lost. Capturing these histories is essential to developing a fuller understanding of the lived experience of those connected to these institutions.
Further information about the project is available at: https://stjosephsindustrialschoolballinasloe.wordpress.com
The event is free of charge, and all are welcome to attend.
(1) Co Kildare – Illustrated Talk – From the Plains of Kildare to the Glen of Imaal -1899 &1925
Wednesday 21st January, 8pm, Newbridge Parish Centre, Station Road, Newbridge,W12 R622
“From the Plains of Kildare to the Glen of Imaal … 1899 & 1925”
This story of Ireland’s premier military training terrain presented in an illustrated talk by Liam Kenny
exploring how the UK War Dept. went to battle with the Wicklow sheep farmers to
set up a firing range in the 1890s. And with an epilogue marking the
first IRISH Army shoot in the Glen, just over a century ago.
Co Kildare locals will know of “the Glen” being almost a second home for soldiers
in the county – both for permanent members and reserve personnel for whom
the summer camp was a rite of passage.
Hosted by the Newbridge Local History Group.
(2) Co Tipperary – Lorrha & Dorrha – Talk – Fluttering the Dovecotes
Lorrha & Dorrha Archaeological and Historical Society are delighted to have Dr. Christy Cunniffe present a talk entitled “Fluttering in the Dovecotes” on Friday January 23rd at 8pm. This presentation will offer an insight to the medieval and early modern dovecote (pigeon houses) of the Midlands region including Tipperary and Galway. It will explore their historical functions, architectural styles, and social significance as symbols of status and sources of food.
Venue: ‘The Shed’ at The Friars Tavern Lorrha
Date: Friday January 23rd
Time: 8pm
Admission €5.
No booking required.
James Heenan
Lorrhalore – Historian, Researcher & Guide
Theresa Kearney, Sara West and Felix Morgan AE George Russell Society Dublin Branch
“I moved among men and places and in living I learned the truth at last.
I know I am a spirit, and that I went forth in all time from the self-ancestral to labours yet unaccomplished.” – AE George Russell
(1) Co Longford Historical Society – New BooksNew Books from County Longford Historical Society
County Longford Historical Society recently co-published, with Geography Publications, County Longford Explored by Dr Fergus O’Ferrall. The book has Dr O’Ferrall’s collected essays on many aspects of Longford’s history since 1978, including: land and society in Moydow barony; the campaign for Catholic Emancipation; agrarian strife; and essays on Oliver Goldsmith and Maria Edgeworth, two of Longford’s great writers. Copies are €40 each, directly from the society.
The society also produced its annual journal, Teathbha, edited by Martin Morris. It has contributions covering a wide range of subjects. Terry Connell has an article about the county’s archaeological sites. Ros McAdden assesses the famous Black Pig’s Dyke or Duncla, in light of recent excavations. Helen Meehan considers references to Teathbha in the Annals of Ulster. Ciaran O’Hanlon gives a possible origin of the name of Longford town. Martin Morris writes about Rev. John Ker, Church of Ireland Dean of Ardagh. Tom Greene, writes about shootings in Gelsha in the 1820s. Edward Walsh extracts mentions of Longford natives from an Argentine newspaper. Roger Timlin outlines mining in Cleenrath, Enaghan and Keel. Seán Ó Súilleabháin uncovers a Rathcline All-Ireland winning hurler, Tom Belton. Neil Moxham highlights the extraordinary photographs taken by his grandaunt, Louise, a nurse in the First World War. Fergus O’Ferrall describes an initiative by Longford’s ‘Patriotic Protestants’ in 1920. Cormac Duignan writes about his grandfather, Peter Duignan, Ballinamuck, a great local historian. Paddy Egan explains the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ in his area. David Leahy provides a fascinating guide to church records and census fragments. And more! Copies are €15 each.
To order either book, please go to County Longford Historical Society’s website – longfordhistory.ie.
