Upcoming : Summer Outing to Lismore 27 /07/25

The second outing of the season will take place in Lismore on Sunday, July 27 2025.

Meeting at 2:00 pm at St Carthage's Church of Ireland Cathedral, Lismore (Eircode P51 VX65). Please note there is also a Catholic Church with the same dedication in the town!

The outing will include a tour of the Cathedral, its memorials, and the historic Cotton Library with Margaret Quinlan and Bláithín Hurley.

All welcome, non-members €5.00

 

Fieldtrip to Lismore

Our first Summer outing of 2017 saw members and guests making the trip to Lismore. We visited the impressive Heritage Centre and then took a walk through the Heritage Town accompanied by Alice, the knowledgeable guide from the Heritage Centre. Among the historic sights we saw were St Carthage’s Cathedral where members were impressed by the well maintained interior which contains among other treasures a 16th century chest tomb of the McGrath family and an exquisite stained glass window by the noted pre-Raphaelite artist Sir Edward Burne-Jones. Other places visited were the gateway to Lismore Castle and the historic ice-houses on the Ballyduff Road. The ice-houses were originally built for the commercial salmon fishery that thrived on the River Blackwater in the 19th century, they have recently been conserved and made accessible to the public by Lismore Tidy Towns Committee in partnership with Waterford City and County Council. Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society members had a very enjoyable afternoon in Lismore and the couple of light showers didn’t dampen our members’ enthusiasm.

 

The Book Of Lismore, a lecture by Pr Pádraig Ó Macháin

Professor Pádraig Ó Macháin had a 'full house' on Friday 28th March for his lecture on the Book of Lismore. Questions were burning and answered during the course of the lecture, which sparked much interest and more questions.

Putting it back in the context of Irish manuscripts, The Book of Lismore is so-called because it was found during renovations in Lismore Castle, together with the Lismore Crozier. However it was originally written for the McCarthy family, either in Kilbrittain Castle or at Timoleague Friary.

Pages from the Book Of Lismore

 Even though it contains texts of Irish interest, in particular Irish saints' lives, it also holds the Deeds of Charlemagne and the Travels of Marco Polo, amongst other texts. The Book of Lismore revived the scribal tradition in Cork, and nowadays the digital version is available online at http://www.isos.dias.ie/

Professor Padráig Ó Macháin with Vice-Chairman Kevin Hall

Robert Boyle Summer School

The Robert Boyle Summer School will take place on July 15 -18. Described as a celebration of  Robert Boyle's life, works, and legacy, it is however 'not a "scientific conference" but will be of special interest to scientists, engineers, technologists, along with historians, educators and anyone with an interest in the progress of human thought. As well as talks and discussions, there will be a costumed recreation of Boyle's most famous experiments, a guided tour of the castle gardens, a visit to St. Carthage's Cathedral, a walk in the Blackwater Valley and a coach tour of the surrounding countryside.

For more details and full programme of events go to http://www.robertboyle.ie/robert-boyle-summer-school