Tag Archives: Kilrush and District Historical Society

THE Kilrush and District Historical Society meets via Zoom tomorrow and has been taking care to prevent a repeat of the incident that marred its previous lecture. On that occasion, a lecture on Republican Surveillance of Women during the War of Independence, was disrupted by intruders displaying pornographic imagery. (See Champion story here) The lecture was being given by Dr Mary McAuliffe, a historian, lecturer and Director of the Gender Studies Programme at UCD, who described herself as being “pretty shocked” by the events of the evening. “We had to abandon it, the images were of porn, there were naked genitalia,” Dr McAuliffe told the Clare Champion at the time. “Then there was the screaming, it wasn’t just images there were voices and in the chat function there were horrific things, sexist abuse, racist abuse. Everything was being impacted.” A spokesperson for the Society told members, “Let me apologise for the Zoombombing which forced us to abandon our February lecture …

AN online lecture delivered by Kilrush and District Historical Society was disrupted by a number of people with sexist and racist abuse, while they also exposed themselves and displayed pornography, writes Owen Ryan. The lecture was being given by Dr Mary McAuliffe, a historian, lecturer and Director of the Gender Studies Programme at UCD, who described herself as being “pretty shocked” by the events of the evening.  She said that a decision had to be taken to shut down the lecture. “We had to abandon it, the images were of porn, there were naked genitalia. Then there was the screaming, it wasn’t just images there were voices and in the chat function there were horrific things, sexist abuse, racist abuse. Everything was being impacted.” Dr McAuliffe also said that sex acts could be seen coming from some of the accounts on the call, but it was unclear if they had been recorded or were being shown live. There have been …

THIS Tuesday, the Kilrush and District Historical Society conducts a lecture on one of the most famous evictions and resistance movements during the Land War which took place in July 1888 on the Vandeleur Estate near Kilrush. The Vandeleur evictions are still remembered locally as one of the darkest periods in the area’s history. Spectators to these evictions numbered in the hundreds, and there was even a sizeable press corps to document the events. Major E. J. O’Shaughnessy, a visiting Irish-American activist, his wife Margaretta Dunn O’Shaughnessy, and her sister Ellen Dunn, were among the witnesses to the evictions, and Major O’Shaughnessy subsequently wrote extensively about his experiences. Major O’Shaughnessy’s great grandson, Ed O’Shaughnessy, has spent over six years studying the many photographs taken during the evictions and the photographers who took them. He has the wonderful advantage of access to family archives and memories handed down since 1888. KDHS has arranged with Ed to deliver a lecture on his …

HERITAGE tourism in Kilrush received a major boost this month with the opening of the renovated Turret Lodge in a project that saw collaboration between the community, the Heritage Council, the government and the local authority. Turret Lodge dates back to the mid-19th century and is a notable landmark in Kilrush, formerly controlling access between the town and the Vandeleur Estate demesne. Given that Kilrush House, the home of the Vandeleur family, burned down in 1897, the surviving lodges, walled garden and stable block have added significance as surviving links to the town’s history. It is now planned to use the building as a community-run heritage and genealogy centre. This project received funding under the Historic Towns Initiative 2019, which is a partnership between the Heritage Council and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, with Clare County Council providing match funding. The delivery was based on a collaborative approach between Kilrush and District Historical Society, Clare County Council and …