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As part of the Westmeath County Council Decade of Centenaries programme, Dr Ian Kenneally has been reappointed Historian in Residence for the period from April to November 2023 inclusive.
The residency is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media in partnership with Westmeath County Council.
The goal of the residency is to provide the public with a trustworthy and enlightening source of information on Westmeath during 1923.
Videos and podcasts from the Decade of Centenaries blog are available on the Westmeath County Council YouTube channel
In 2023, actor and singer-songwriter Eoghan Burke won a creative practitioner bursary from Westmeath County Council with the goal of exploring...
Date: 11/11/2024
Period: 1923 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
One hundred years ago, in the final week of October 1924, Athlone and Mullingar hosted remarkable ceremonies in which the remains of those executed...
Date: 31/10/2024
Period: 1924 - 1924
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
On Saturday 24 August 2024, as part of Heritage Week, Belvedere House and Gardens hosted a series of four talks on Belvedere’s history and its links to ...
Date: 01/10/2024
Period: 1740 - 1982
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
In our latest edition – the final article of the current series – we look at the fundraising efforts led by Athlone’s Canon John Crowe.
Date: 01/12/2023
Period: 1921 - 1924
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
‘Taking advantage of the times, small parties have on recent occasions made raids on country residences near Athlone.'
Date: 26/11/2023
Period: 1922 - 1924
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
In the second of two articles, historian Ruth Illingworth explores the transformations that took place in Mullingar during the War of Independence and Civil War
Date: 19/11/2023
Period: 1919 - 1923
Author: Ruth Illingworth
In the first of two articles, historian Ruth Illingworth explores the transformations that took place in Mullingar before and during the First World War.
Date: 11/11/2023
Period: 1912 - 1918
Author: Ruth Illingworth
‘Ordered to prepare for execution on the roadside, and then to have his home burned down and his wife and child thrown on the roadside,...'
Date: 01/11/2023
Period: 1923 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
This week (beginning Monday 23 October) the Westmeath Independent and Westmeath Examiner publish a new 16-page supplement which explores Westmeath during...
Date: 24/10/2023
Period: 1912 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
The Civil War ended in May 1923 with a ceasefire, not a negotiated peace, and the government remained wary of renewed violence.
Date: 30/11/2023
Period: 1923 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
In this edition we include the music video for Eoghan Burke’s new song, When The Carnival Returns.
Date: 21/09/2023
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
On Culture Night, Friday 22 September, musician Eoghan Burke will perform a set in Athlone Public Library that includes his new song.
Date: 13/09/2023
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
In this edition, guest author Dr John Gibney discusses the accession of the Irish Free State to the League of Nations in September 1923.
Date: 03/09/2023
Period: 1923 - 1923
Author: Dr John Gibney
In the second of two articles, Dr John Burke discusses the general election of August 1923, an election that would shape the post-Civil War Irish Free State.
Date: 24/08/2024
Period: 1923 - 1923
Author: Dr John Burke
In the first of two articles, Dr John Burke explores the general election of August 1923
Date: 16/08/2023
Period: 1923 - 1923
Author: Dr John Burke
In our latest article we look at one example of life in Westmeath after the end of the Civil War.
Date: 04/08/2023
Period: 1920 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
In this edition Mullingar-based historian Jason McKevitt discusses the state-sanctioned executions which took place in Mullingar’s Columb Barracks in March 1923
Date: 27/07/2023
Period: 1922 - 1924
Author: Jason McKevitt B.A. (HONS), PDIP (SE), HDIP (FED)
During the Civil War, Athlone’s Custume Barracks held hundreds of prisoners and previous articles have explored some of their stories...
Date: 20/07/2023
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
The Sixth Man
Date: 09/07/2023
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
During the summer of 1923 Athlone welcomed John McCormack, the internationally renowned tenor, as he returned to his home town after an absence of many years.
Date: 27/06/2023
Period: 1923 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
On 22 January 1923, Richard Bertles from Drumraney, known locally as Dick Bertles, was shot in the village of Ballymore.
Date: 21/06/2023
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
‘On Monday night National troops from Ballymahon and Athlone surrounded Ballymore and made a search for wanted men...'
Date: 13/06/2023
Period: 1920 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
In the previous article we discussed the anti-Treaty IRA and its campaign of destruction aimed at public infrastructure during the Irish Civil War.
Date: 07/06/2023
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
‘When the mail train which left Athlone for Westport on Monday morning at 9.35 o’clock had arrived, at a point about 2 miles on the Knockcroghery side...
Date: 31/05/2023
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
In April 2023, The History Show on RTÉ Radio One broadcast an interview with Professor Lyndsey Earner-Byrne, Professor of Gender History at UCC.
Date: 23/05/2023
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
On 26 April 2023, Dr Síobhra Aiken provided the annual William English Lecture to the Old Athlone Society in Lough Ree Yacht Club.
Date: 10/05/2023
Period: 1922 - 2023
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
In earlier editions, we discussed local Cumann na mBan branches between 1918 and 1923, focussing on figures such Eva Fitzgerald...
Date: 04/05/2023
Period: 1919 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
Forty-five minute audio documentary, researched and written by Dr Ian Kenneally and produced by Midlands 103
Date: 28/04/2023
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
‘All the crowd came in there; military first and then when the Tans came they also frequented the place, not knowing our politics’.
Date: 25/04/2023
Period: 1919 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
In recent years, the Historian in Residence project has explored the careers of both Laurence and Alice Ginnell (née King). Laurence Ginnell
Date: 20/04/2023
Period: 1900 - 1923
Author: Ian Kenneally
‘Athlone was startled on Wednesday night about 9.15 by a muffled explosion, followed by a glare in the sky...'
Date: 18/04/2023
Period: 1923 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
In this edition, we discuss the ceremonies in which the remains of those executed were returned to their families.
Date: 12/04/2023
Period: 1923 - 1924
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
Here, in the third of three articles and the last edition of the current Historian in Residence series, we discuss the executions that occurred in Custume...
Date: 16/01/2023
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
In the second of three articles, we explore the circumstances surrounding the state-sanctioned executions carried out in Custume Barracks in January 1923.
Date: 08/01/2023
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
In this, the first of three articles, we explore the state-sanctioned executions that took place in Athlone’s Custume Barracks in January 1923.
Date: 05/01/2023
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
In this edition, we publish the winning entry from the school essay competition organised by Westmeath County Council between September and November 2022.
Date: 03/01/2023
Period: 1919 - 1921
Author: Orla Corcoran
At 7pm on 26 December, Midlands 103 will broadcast ‘Wreckage and Ruin: scenes from a civil war’.
Date: 20/12/2022
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr Ian Kenneally
In this edition, guest author Dr Síobhra Aiken discusses Anthony O’Connor’s 'He’s Somewhere In There'
Date: 14/12/2022
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr Síobhra Aiken
This article is published courtesy of the Royal Irish Academy.
Date: 05/12/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Dr John Gibney
In September, Westmeath County Council, invited entries to an essay competition as part of its Decade of Centenaries programme. The results of the competition..
Date: 30/11/2022
Period: 1919 - 1923
Author: Ian Kenneally
In the previous article, we followed Alice and Laurence Ginnell’s activities between December 1921 and July 1922. Our main source was Alice Ginnell’s witness...
Date: 23/11/2022
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Ian Kenneally
In an earlier edition (see article by Dr Ann Marie O’Brien) and podcast, we discussed the life and career of Alice King who was born near Mullingar in 1882...
Date: 16/11/2022
Period: 1921 - 1922
Author: Ian Kenneally
In the second of two articles, Dr John Burke explores the June 1922 ‘Pact Election’ and its outcome, particularly in the midlands.
Date: 02/11/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Dr. John Burke
The general election of June 1922 had the potential to present a clear picture of support for the divisive Anglo-Irish Treaty.
Date: 25/10/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Dr. John Burke.
Here, we trace the aftermath of that ambush in the previous article.
Date: 20/10/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Ian Kenneally
Previous articles traced the course of the conflict as it moved from conventional to guerrilla warfare. Here, we discuss one example...
Date: 10/10/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Ian Kenneally
Westmeath County Council, as part of its Decade of Centenaries programme, welcomes a new exhibition of photos from the Irish Civil War.
Date: 04/10/2022
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Ian Kenneally
During the Irish Civil War, controlling the flow and content of information was a primary goal for the combatants.
Date: 28/09/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Ian Kenneally
Westmeath County Council, as part of its Decade of Centenaries programme, invites entries to a new essay competition open to all senior cycle students.
Date: 21/09/2022
Period: 1918 - 1923
Author: Ian Kenneally
In the second of two articles, guest contributor Dr. John O’Callaghan explains how the anti-Treaty IRA responded to the victories won by the National Army...
Date: 05/09/2022
Period: 1922 - 1923
Author: Dr John O’Callaghan
Dr John O’Callaghan, our latest guest contributor, provides an overview of the fighting during the early stages of the Civil War.
Date: 30/08/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Dr John O'Callaghan
‘A thrill of horror’, according to the Westmeath Independent, ‘of shame, of despair, of the deepest distress went through the length and breadth of our land...
Date: 22/08/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Ian Kenneally
In the previous article, we explored the circumstances that led to the shooting dead of George Adamson in April 1922.
Date: 17/08/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Ian Kenneally
In an earlier edition of the blog we discussed the shooting dead of George Adamson in April 1922.
Date: 11/08/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Ian Kenneally
In this article, we discuss the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of Patrick Mulrennan in October 1922.
Date: 02/08/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Ian Kenneally
In one of the sitting TDs for Longford-Westmeath, Laurence Ginnell, anti-Treaty republicans had a powerful propagandist in their camp after the outbreak...
Date: 18/07/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Dr Paul Hughes
Athlone and south Westmeath
Date: 14/07/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Dr Paul Hughes
One hundred years ago last week, the anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army Executive’s headquarters at Dublin’s Four Courts was attacked by the National Army
Date: 12/07/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Dr Paul Hughes
The prelude to civil war in Westmeath: the Protestant experience
Date: 08/06/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Dr Paul Hughes
Evacuation of Barracks, Mullingar
Date: 03/05/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Paul Hughes
Ten days: the barracks, the standoff and the bloodshed
Date: 27/04/2022
Period: 1922 - 1922
Author: Paul Hughes
The killing of George Adamson, 25 April 1922
Date: 25/04/2022
Period: 1920 - 1922
Author: Guest Author John Gibney
Westmeath in 1920: A Timeline - Westmeath Heritage
Date: 2021
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
Podcast: Laurence Ginnell–Part 2: from Ireland to America
Date: 24/01/2022
Period: 1918 - 1923
Author: Ian Kenneally
Podcast: Laurence Ginnell–Part 1:the MP for Ireland
Date: 15/12/2021
Period: 1908 - 1918
Author: Ian Kenneally
Westmeath and the Anglo-Irish Treaty Part 2
Date: 13/12/2021
Period: 1921 - 1922
Author: Ian Kenneally
Westmeath and the Anglo-Irish Treaty – Part 1
Date: 06/12/2021
Period: 1921 - 1922
Author: Ian Kenneally
The IRB in Westmeath during the War of Independence – Part 2
Date: 03/12/2021
Period: 1919 - 1922
Author: Ian Kenneally
The IRB in Westmeath during the War of Independence – Part 1
Date: 24/11/2021
Period: 1917 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
Podcast: ‘Alice Ginnell: activist and diplomat, 1916-1923’
Date: 18/11/2021
Period: 1916 - 1923
Author: Ian Kenneally
The Irish Revolution: Roscommon and Athlone – Part 2
Date: 10/11/2021
Period: 1920 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
The Irish Revolution: Roscommon and Athlone – Part 1
Date: 05/11/2021
Period: 1917 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
Upcoming Everest 1921 events
Date: 03/11/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
Podcast: ‘The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives'
Date: 28/10/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
New podcast platform for Westmeath and the Decade of Centenaries
Date: 18/10/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
With the Insects at Lincoln
Date: 14/10/2021
Period: 1918 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
Podcast:1921 reconnaissance mission to Mount Everest
Date: 11/10/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
In the latest of our guest posts, we discuss the Truce period in and around Athlone. Dr John Burke takes up the story.
Date: 28/09/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Dr John Burke
New digital exhibition – everest1921.com
Date: 20/09/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
Charles Howard-Bury describes his first view of Mount Everest in 1921
Date: 13/09/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
The Capture of Sean Mac Eoin in Mullingar in 1921
Date: 25/08/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Dr Paul Hughes
Do you have documents and photos related to Westmeath during 1921?
Date: 18/08/2021
Period: 1920 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
The Ballad of James Tormey - from Comhaltas Traditional Music Archive - Singer John Doyle
Date: 18/08/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Comhaltas Traditional Music Archive
The War of Newspapers
Date: 18/08/2021
Period: 1919 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
Brian Maguire talks about his father, James (Seamus) Maguire
Date: 09/08/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Paul Hughes
WCC Decade of Centenaries Podcast 3 – Marika MacCarvill on Eileen McGrane
Date: 04/08/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Historian in Residence Paul Hughes
The advent of the Truce between the IRA and Crown forces
Date: 09/07/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Dr Paul Hughes, Historian in Residence
The Burning of Moydrum Castle 03 July 1921
Date: 06/07/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Filmed and edited by Mark Bennett Crosscut.ie thanks to funding from Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media's #DecadeofCentenaries programme
Ambush at Benown, 20 June 1921
Date: 30/06/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: This blog post is an amended version of an article published by the author in the Westmeath Examiner dated 6 March 2021
The Shooting of Head Constable James McElhill in Kilbeggan
Date: 16/06/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Paul Hughes
‘Can you stop the cavalry?’: British military manoeuvres in Westmeath, May-June 1921
Date: 02/06/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Paul Hughes
The Intelligence War in Westmeath, 1920-1921 - Part Two
Date: 19/05/2021
Period: 1920 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
The Intelligence War in Westmeath, 1920-21 - Part One
Date: 14/05/2021
Period: 1920 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
Scars of Revolution: The Case of Thomas Caddell
Date: 12/05/2021
Period: 1898 - 1927
Author: Paul Hughes
Wars and Rumours of Wars: Ballycorkey Bridge, May 1921
Date: 04/05/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Paul Hughes
Cumann na mBan, 1921: Cecilia Keeble’s Story
Date: 26/04/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Paul Hughes
Paul Hughes and John Sheehan discuss the lives and death of the Tormey brothers of Moate.
Date: 16/04/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Paul Hughes
Keeping the garrison ‘on their toes’: the assault on Kinnegad RIC barracks, April 1921
Date: 16/04/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Paul Hughes
Westmeath to Philadelphia: Kitty O’Doherty’s Irish Revolution
Date: 06/04/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Paul Hughes
"Nothing gained nor lost": Ambush at Newtown Cross
Date: 31/03/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Paul Hughes
Guerrilla Activity at Mullingar Railway Station, 1921
Date: 26/03/2021
Period: 1921 - 1921
Author: Paul Hughes
In January 2021, the Old Athlone Society launched a new website - midlandshistory.com
Date: 13/01/2021
Period: 1918 - 1923
Author: Ian Kenneally
Westmeath County Council partnered with Midlands 103 to broadcast a series of documentaries written and narrated by historian Ian Kenneally
Date: 18/12/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
In the final post of the series on 1920, we assess the situation in Westmeath as the year came to a close and the War of Independence continued to rage.
Date: 18/12/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
In our previous post, we examined the Mullingar Brigade’s kidnapping of Resident Magistrate Maxwell Moore and his colleague Gustavus Hyde, a justice of the peac
Date: 25/11/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
In earlier posts, we discussed the development of the IRA in Westmeath. Here, we focus on the Mullingar Brigade.
Date: 23/11/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
The burning of the Westmeath Independent’s offices and the associated print works in November 1920 was an extraordinary and distressing incident
Date: 20/11/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
In this edition, we discuss the aftermath of the Parkwood ambush of 22 October 1920.
Date: 18/11/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
The IRA ambush a police convoy near Moate leading to reprisals by the Crown forces in the town, as well as in Athlone and Kilbeggan.
Date: 16/11/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
In June 1920, Laurence Ginnell, the TD for Westmeath and Director of Publicity in the First Dáil, set out for the United States.
Date: 13/11/2020
Period: 1920 - 1921
Author: Paul Hughes
A day after the arrival of the Auxiliaries in Athlone, the IRA launch a retaliatory attack against the Crown forces.
Date: 12/11/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
In the second of Gretta Connell’s guest blogs, she discusses Westmeath County Council from summer 1920 to the aftermath of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1922.
Date: 10/11/2020
Period: 1920 - 1922
Author: Gretta Connell
In the latest of our guest blogs Gretta Connell discusses the role of Westmeath County Council during the Irish Revolution.
Date: 09/11/2020
Period: 1916 - 1920
Author: Gretta Connell
In the latest of our guest posts, we discuss Alice Ginnell’s activism between 1915 and 1923. Dr Anne Marie O’Brien takes up the story.
Date: 05/11/2020
Period: 1915 - 1923
Author: Dr. Anne Marie O'Brien
In this edition we discuss the activities of Cumann na mBan in Westmeath during the War of Independence.
Date: 04/11/2020
Period: 1918 - 1921
Author: Ian Kenneally
Following the escalation of the IRA’s campaign in Westmeath, in this edition, we discuss events in and around Athlone during subsequent months.
Date: 03/11/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
The British government’s Restoration of Order in Ireland Act and the creation of an IRA flying column in Westmeath signify an escalation of the conflict.
Date: 30/10/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
Dr John Gibney discusses how the Westmeath Independent reported on global events during a time of change and disruption.
Date: 27/10/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: John Gibney
In earlier posts, we discussed the retreat of the RIC from large areas of Westmeath. As British authority declined, republican alternatives emerged.
Date: 22/10/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
We devote this edition of the blog to the circumstances facing the media during the War of Independence.
Date: 16/10/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
In this edition, we take a break from our series on developments in Westmeath and welcome our first guest contributor, Dr John Gibney of the Royal Irish Academy
Date: 14/10/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: John Gibney
Previously, we charted the development of the IRA in Westmeath. Here, we discuss the ‘flying column’ that was formed in 1920.
Date: 05/10/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
In this edition, we discuss the efforts of the Westmeath Volunteers to organise and obtain weapons during the first phase of the War of Independence.
Date: 29/09/2020
Period: 1918 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
In this edition, we discuss the revitalisation of the Irish Volunteers in Westmeath before 1920.
Date: 24/09/2020
Period: 1917 - 1918
Author: Ian Kenneally
Following on from our previous post, we discuss the IRA’s attempts to diminish the power and influence of the RIC.
Date: 21/09/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
In this edition of our blog, we discuss conflicts in Westmeath during 1919, which foreshadow greater unrest in the county during 1920.
Date: 17/09/2020
Period: 1919 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
In this edition of our blog, we will look at Custume Barracks in Athlone, a location that played a vital role in Westmeath during the War of Independence
Date: 08/09/2020
Period: 1691 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
Over the next few months, we will follow the story of Westmeath during 1920, discussing a range of topics and placing the county within national context
Date: 08/09/2020
Period: 1920 - 1920
Author: Ian Kenneally
