November Lecture: Mr William Fraher

The lecture on Friday night was very successful and drew a large audience, as Mr William Fraher gave a talk on the impact of the Civil War on the Big Houses of County Waterford. 

Hon Editor, Donnchadh Ó Ceallacháin presented Mr Fraher with a copy of the latest edition of Decies.

Included in the picture, l-to-r: Mr Julian Walton, Mr William Fraher, Mr Donnchadh Ó Ceallacháin, Mr Michael Maher. 

Just published: Decies 67

Decies ,the Journal of the Society, has just been published and will be available to members at the Annual Lunch on Sunday 27 November.

From Our Neighbour: South Kilkenny Historical Society :Lecture on Knockroe Passage Tomb

South Kilkenny Historical Society Lecture

Title: Knockroe passage tomb and the mysterious Stone Age of south Kilkenny

Speaker: Muiris O’Suilleabhan, Associate Professor, School of Archaeology, U.C.D.

Date: Thursday, November 24th

Time: 8pm

Venue: Mullinavat parish hall (opposite church).

Admission: €5 (members free)

Knockroe passage tomb, known locally as “The Caiseal”, is situated beside the Lingaun river at the south-western edge of County Kilkenny and is considered an archaeological site of national importance. Prior to the 1980s little was known about the site but in recent years it has come further into the limelight with a programme of excavation between 1990-1995, by the speaker (Dr O Suilleabhan).

November lecture: The War Of Independence And The Big Houses

Our next lecture will be delivered by Mr William Fraher, Curator of Waterford County Museum in Dungarvan. William has often lectured to the Society and has led a number of our summer field trips.

The topic of this month's lecture, 'The Bad Times': The War of Independence and the Big Houses in Co Waterford promises to be a fascinating one, indeed, as William's sources are unpublished original manuscripts and letters as well as newspapers and witness statements. 

Should you be in Dungarvan, don't miss the current exhibition on The Big Houses in the Museum, which can only add to the experience of the lecture. 

Date: 25 November 2011

Time: 8.00 pm

Venue: Edmund Rice Heritage Centre, Barrack Street, Waterford

Pat McCarthy's Lecture: Gun Running in Waterford

 

On 26 October last Dr Pat McCarthy, well-known military historian and member of the Society, delivered a lecture on the successful IRA gun running operation through Waterford Harbour in 1921.

Sourced in Germany, a large consignment of weapons (rifles, pistols ) and ammunition was shipped on board the Frieda, a small vessel which sailed up the harbour. The consignment was successfully unloaded and moved inland. 

This was probably the most significant importation of arms in Ireland since 1913. Although the weapons arrived in Ireland after the Truce, the episode was considered an important morale booster for the IRA asIrish representatives prepared to enter treaty negotiations with the British government.

October Lecture: Gun Running in Waterford

Dr Pat McCarthy returns on October 28th with another military-themed topic, Gun Running in Waterford. Pat is well known to our members, being a regular contributor to Decies on such diverse topics as T.F.Meagher, the rise of Sinn Féin or Captain Clooney's career in the Papal army. He has also led some of our summer outings, the latest being to the site of the Battle of the Boyne last June. Pat is Correspondence Secretary of the Military Society of Ireland.

Venue: Edmund Rice Heritage Centre, Barrack Street.

Time: 8 pm

Price: Members: free
         Non-members: €5.00

September Lecture: Recent Excavations in the Viking Triangle, by Órla Scully

Our first lecture in the Edmund Rice Conference Centre attracted interest, and those present on the night were the first to see the finds of the Viking Triangle. Órla recounted for us the work done by the archaeologists and explained the process involved in monitoring the digs, the survey, during, before, and after. Hard work, dangerous situations, puzzles solved, questions raised, and 'Indiana Jones moments'...

Starting on the surface, the great concentration of pottery and 18th / 19th century paraphernalia discovered showed the importance of the area in those days.
A well was found, which will remain as a feature at the back of  City Hall. There were pits, showing evidence of metalworking, the dating of some of the layers - 898 to 920 AD - possibly linking the activity on this site to the Woodstown site. High quality medieval pottery, highly decorated rims of jugs, 10th century ring pins, all the findings implying this was a high status area. Many little walls -like little units, squared up, ran at the back of the Theatre.

While working inside the Bishop's Palace, a digger dislodged a stone, revealing an opening in the ground. A camera lowered into the hole brought back pictures of  a medieval undercroft, used as a wine cellar for the Palace, and some bottles.... empty and/or broken!

A section of the medieval cathedral, beneath Christchurch Cathedral, was also uncovered.

We were made aware of some of the steps involved in the conservation process, and problems encountered when trying to reconstruct parts of a building, in this case windows.

With the excavations over, the building work for the new medieval museum is now well under way, and we are looking forward to its opening in 2012.