Lucky escapes, rising damp or something else entirely? Why so few County Waterford ‘big houses’ were burned in the Irish Revolution.
A lecture by Cian Flaherty to the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society
After a Covid-enforced suspension of our lecture series in 2020 and 2021 the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society are delighted to inform members that our 2021 – 2022 lecture season is commencing on Friday September 17th next.
Our first lecture will be delivered by historian Cian Flaherty whose subject is Lucky escapes, rising damp or something else entirely? Why so few County Waterford ‘big houses’ were burned in the Irish Revolution.
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| Members of the IRA, West Waterford Flying Column, at Cappagh House. Source: Waterford County Museum. |
The use of arson in the Irish Revolution has been discussed before. So far, the focus has been on 'big house' burning and the motives behind it. Less attention
has been paid to the reasons why ‘big houses’ were not burned.
Taking Waterford as a case study, Cian will address the question why the vast majority of Waterford’s ‘big houses’ managed to escape the arsonist’s torch, before discussing the use of arson more broadly in the revolutionary period.
Cian Flaherty is from Stradbally, he graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a BA (Mod) in History in 2018, and completed an MPhil in Modern Irish History at Trinity the following year. He has an abiding interest in the history and culture of mid-Waterford and is currently working on a survey of the old graveyard in Stradbally.
As usual, the lecture will be at 8 pm in St Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Waterford.
Please note that due to current public health restrictions, capacity of the lecture venue is limited to 50%, unfortunately WAHS cannot guarantee admittance.
We have an exciting programme of lectures lined-up for the year ahead. Here are details of the talks planned for October and November:
15/10/2021 Karen Hannon ‘A Reflection of Importance - A study of the memorial stained glass windows of Co. Waterford.’
26/11/2021 Cóilín Ó Drisceoil ‘The Dungarvan Valley Caves Project – searching for evidence of Waterford’s earliest inhabitants’
The full programme will be circulated in the coming weeks and will be posted on the Society’s website and Facebook page.
