The WAHS lecture season for 2017 and 2018 continues on Friday 23rd March with a lecture titled ‘The development of Dungarvan c. 1200 – 1900’ by the historical geographer Mr John Martin at 8:00 pm in the St Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Waterford.
The town of Dungarvan developed in the shelter of the 13th century King John’s Castle and over the following centuries grew to be a bustling port, market town and administrative centre. John Martin’s lecture will focus on the development of Dungarvan, the layout of its streets, buildings and open spaces, from its foundation by the Anglo-Normans to the end of the 19th century. The medieval street pattern is still visible, as are the ruins of the castle, Augustinian abbey and parish church. The town walls no longer survive above ground, but recent archaeological investigations have confirmed their location as shown on a map dating from 1760. The dukes of Devonshire became a major landowner in the town in the mid-18th century, and carried out an extensive programme of urban renewal in the early decades of the 19th century. That century also witnessed the building of Catholic churches and schools, the impact of the Great Famine, and the coming of the railway.
John studied history and geography in UCD where his teachers included Professors Anngret Simms and Howard Clarke, both founders of the Irish Historic Towns Atlas project. He spent his working life as a planner, culminating as Principal Planning Adviser in the former Department of the Environment. Since his retirement in 2011, he has fulfilled a number of roles in the public service, including membership of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board and the Waterford Boundary Review Committee. He spent his childhood summer holidays in Dungarvan, and was delighted when the opportunity arose to prepare the Historic Towns Atlas for the town. The Irish Historic Towns Atlas project was established in 1981. Its aim is to research the topographical development of a selection of Irish towns both large and small. Each town is published separately and includes a series of maps complemented by a detailed text section. The Irish Historic Towns Atlas is part of a wider European scheme, with towns’ atlases containing broadly similar information available for a number of countries. This allows the development of Dungarvan and other Irish towns to be studied in their broader European context.
Admission to the lecture is €5 (students €2.50), but is free for members of the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society
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