Westmeath's Decade of Centenaries

In the latest edition of our podcast series, Historian in Residence Ian Kenneally speaks with Dr Paul Hughes in the first of two episodes devoted to the remarkable political career of Westmeath’s Laurence Ginnell. The first episode covers the period 1908-1918, a time during which Ginnell established his reputation in the British House of Commons before joining Sinn Féin after the 1916 Rising.

In the latest edition of our podcast series, Historian in Residence Ian Kenneally speaks with Dr Anne Marie O’Brien, about the role played by Alice King (later Ginnell) in Cumann na mBan, Sinn Féin and as part of Dáil Éireann’s international publicity efforts during the War of Independence.

In the latest edition of our podcast series, Historian in Residence Ian Kenneally speaks with author and historian Dr John Burke. It is the first of two episodes which discuss Roscommon during the years 1917-1921. Of course, there are many crossovers and connections between Roscommon and Westmeath, particularly through areas such as Athlone.

John Burke MA, PhD is a graduate of the National University of Ireland, Galway. As well as having authored numerous articles on the years 1900-23, he has written two books dedicated to the Irish revolutionary period – ‘Athlone 1900-1923: politics, revolution and civil war’ (Dublin, 2015) and ‘Roscommon: the Irish revolution, 1912-23’, which was published by Four Courts Press in September 2021.

In the latest edition of our podcast series, Historian in Residence Ian Kenneally speaks with author and historian Dr John Burke. It is the first of two episodes which discuss Roscommon during the years 1917-1921. Of course, there are many crossovers and connections between Roscommon and Westmeath, particularly through areas such as Athlone.

John Burke MA, PhD is a graduate of the National University of Ireland, Galway. As well as having authored numerous articles on the years 1900-23, he has written two books dedicated to the Irish revolutionary period – ‘Athlone 1900-1923: politics, revolution and civil war’ (Dublin, 2015) and ‘Roscommon: the Irish revolution, 1912-23’, which was published by Four Courts Press in September 2021.

In the latest edition of our podcast series, Ian Kenneally speaks with Zoë Reid, Senior Conservator in the National Archives of Ireland, and Dr John Gibney of the Royal Irish Academy about the upcoming exhibition: ‘The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives’.

The exhibition gives the public an opportunity to see some of the most significant historical documents held by the National Archives. It will open in Dublin Castle on the 6 December 2021 and run until 27 March 2022. This will be the first time that many of the relevant papers from the Treaty negotiations, including the Treaty document itself, will be shown to the public. The exhibition is presented by the National Archives in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy.

In our third Westmeath Decade of Centenaries podcast, Dr Paul Hughes speaks to Marika MacCarvill, granddaughter of  Eileen MacCarvill (née McGrane). Eileen McGrane went to UCD and became a leading officer in the Dublin  university’s Cumann na mBan branch, but became best known for her close  working relationship with Michael Collins as his private secretary and  trusted intelligence confidante. Less known is the fact that Eileen was a native of Killucan, and a  former student of Loreto College, Mullingar – making her one of  Westmeath’s strongest connections to the revolutionary period.

In this episode, Dr Paul Hughes and guest Dr Marie Coleman discuss the Truce of July 1921. The Truce brought a provisional halt to the war between the Irish Republican Army and the forces of the British Crown, paving the way for peace negotiations that would eventually lead to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

In the first of a series of Westmeath County Council Decade of  Centenaries podcasts, Dr Paul Hughes talks to John  Sheehan, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Archaeology, University  College, Cork, about the lives and deaths of the Tormey brothers of Moate. In January 1921, Joseph Tormey was shot dead by a British sentry at Ballykinlar Internment Camp, Co. Down, and just over a fortnight later, his brother James, an officer of the IRA's Athlone Brigade Active Service Unit, died in an engagement with Crown forces at Cornafulla. John Sheehan, a native of Westmeath, wrote an extensive article about  the Tormey brothers for the highly acclaimed Cork University Press  publication, The Atlas of the Irish Revolution (2017).