Upcoming Lecture by Dr Pat McCarthy 28 January 2022 :The experience of Waterford loyalists in the revolutionary decade 1912-1923.

 

                                                 

The next lecture in our 2021 – 2022 programme at the earlier time of 6 pm on Friday January 28th when historian Dr Pat McCarthy will deliver a talk titled ‘The experience of Waterford loyalists in the revolutionary decade 1912-1923’.

 

“I had been brought up under the union jack and had no desire to live under any other emblem.” 

The words of C.P. Crane, a Tipperary Resident Magistrate, in 1923, would have found an echo in the hearts of many of Waterford’s loyalist community. By 1926 their population had declined by 40% compared to 1911 and those who survived now lived in a different environment. In 1912 the small but influential loyalist community in Waterford had been vocal in their opposition to Home Rule. Led by Sir William Goff-Davis Goff and Dr Henry Stuart O’Hara, Church of Ireland bishop of the united dioceses of Waterford, Lismore, Cashel and Emly, they had publicly protested against the Home Rule Bill. On October 2 that year Dr O’Hara had led a prayer service in Christchurch which concluded with a signing of the Ulster Covenant by some of his flock – possibly a unique event in Munster. By 1914 they were very much aware that Home Rule for at least three provinces was inevitable and that in the event of a civil war they were extremely vulnerable. Those who attended an anti-Home Rule event had their names noted by a local newspaper which led to sharp exchanges in the House of Commons between the Conservative leader, Andrew Bonar-Law and John Redmond, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party and MP for Waterford. The outbreak of WW1 changed that, at least temporarily, and they responded enthusiastically to the call to arms. They paid a high price for their loyalty to King and Empire. After the war, they again found themselves vulnerable, especially between the Truce (July 1921) and the end of the Civil War (May 1923), a period in which they were subject to opportunistic violence, a republican campaign of ‘Big House’ burnings and social disorder. In this lecture distinguished historian Pat McCarthy will look at the experiences of Waterford’s loyalist community during the revolutionary decade.

Friday 28th January 2022

6 PM

St Patrick's Gateway Centre

Upcoming Lecture -in St Patrick's Gateway Centre- by Cian Flaherty on 17th September

 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. 

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.