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We are a voluntary group dedicated to preserving and promoting our unique heritage in this wonderful walled port town. Youghal was an important administrative and commercial centre in the late Medieval period and up to the 19th century. In earlier times the area was associated with significant monastic settlements such as Molana Abbey which had an international reputation for scholarship. For all the latest news , please visit us on Facebook. This includes photos of our latest conference. Each year we hold a History Conference over two days ( 24th and 25th September 2011) with highest quality speakers, field trips and activities relating to our heritage. In our Archive section you can see the quality of previous presentations and presenters. Our Photo gallery gives you an idea of our work, our past conferences and our activities. Many of the photos were taken by local photographer Michael Hussey. The Theme of the Conference in 2011 is : Politics and Culture in the 19th Century In addition to the History Conference (24th to 26th September), there is an amount of other activities. In particular, this year could we tempt you with a visit to Molly Keane's house ? Her work features prominently in the conference and a visit to her house would be a special treat. We also have a fine walking tour of Youghal. Abstracts ABSTRACTS; Felix Larkin 's talk is "Keeping an eye on Youghal: the Freeman's Journal and the Plan of Campaign in East Cork, 1886-1892." Irish political leaders in the late nineteenth century used accounts and pictures of incidents in the Land War, especially evictions, quite explicitly for propaganda purposes to promote their aspirations at home and abroad. This was especially so during the period of the Plan of Campaign – the Plan’s manifesto had stated that ‘the fullest publicity should be given to evictions’. Since many leaders of the Irish party involved in the Land War had careers in journalism as well as in politics, they were acutely aware of the value of publicity. This paper will focus on the coverage in the Dublin press – and primarily in the leading Dublin daily newspaper, the Freeman’s Journal – of the Plan of Campaign on the Ponsonby estate, near Youghal, between 1886 and 1892. For example, the imprisonment of Canon Keller of Youghal in March 1887 occasioned two notable cartoons – one in the Freeman, the other in the weekly United Ireland (the editor of which was William O’Brien, one of the leaders of the Plan and a native of Mallow, Co. Cork). By way of background, the paper will explore the highly political nature the Dublin press at the time – and also the curious fact that many of the foremost Irish journalists in this period were natives of Co. Cork. Ian d’Alton's presentation is "Before Molly Keane: image and reality in the lives of the nineteenth century gentry of east Cork and west Waterford."
This paper is grounded in a contention that in individuals and communities there are creative three-way tensions between what they are, how they see themselves, and how they are seen by others. These tensions provide the reference points, the bearings, necessary for establishing the senses of self- and group identity, coherence and otherness. The French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan captures it when he says that our most cherished beliefs about ourselves are fictions. An Irish resonance is found in John Banville’s subversive Big House novel, Birchwood: ‘We imagine that we remember things as they were, while in fact all we carry into the future are fragments which reconstruct a wholly illusory past’. Here, I challenge a few conceptions and misconceptions about the Irish gentry, using as exemplar those of east/north Cork and west Waterford – the Blackwater catchment, broadly - by counterpointing the actuality of their existence with the tropes in which they are often represented and defined in the ‘long’ nineteenth century. It’s only a partial glimpse: to deal comprehensively with the topic would take several books. I pick out a few interesting characteristics of their economic, physical and social environments and, using some pre-Molly Keane literary sources, illumine the contrast between reality and image. I conclude with a couple of individual histories that, hopefully, gather together and exemplify the general points I’m trying to make. Peter Murray (Crawford Art Gallery) will discuss Lady Caroline Lamb's 1816 Romantic novel "Glenarvon", written at Lismore Castle, and its place in the art, politics and literature of the period. Fleeing from her tragic love affair with Lord Byron, who she accurately described as 'mad, bad and dangerous to know', and also fleeing from the wrath of her conservative family, who considered her mentally unstable, in 1813 Lady Caroline Lamb was offered protection by her childhood friend, the 6th Duke of Devonshire. During the year she spent at Lismore, Lamb penned her first novel, the semi-autobiographical novel Glenarvon, a book that caused a scandal when published in London three years later, not least for its endorsing the ideals of Irish nationalism, but also in its characterization of Lord Byron as an Irish revolutionary. During the reign of Queen Victoria, Lamb's husband, William Lamb (later Lord Melbourne) went on to become Prime Minister. Well-read, and highly intelligent, Lady Caroline Lamb was in many ways a victim of the social attitudes of her time. Based on the Irish rebellion of 1798, her novel Glenarvon provides the reader not only with portraits of Lamb and Byron, but also of Lismore Castle in 1813, a building at that time in a state of semi-dereliction. The decision by the 6th Duke of Devonshire to rebuild Lismore Castle was certainly influenced by his friendship and admiration for Lamb. This paper will draw on artworks and literature of the period, to place in context this extraordinary and unusual work of Romantic fiction, and to also highlight some of the real people, places and events depicted, in thinly-veiled disguises, in the novel. Joan Rockley (Cork discusses Edward Fitzgerald of Youghal: architect and antiquary Prior to the nineteenth century, most of the early development of antiquarianism in Ireland was centred on Dublin, however from the early 1800s there was greater access to education for increased numbers and there was a move away from an educational system based on the Classics to a more science based curriculum. This was one of the factors which gave a boost to the growth of antiquarianism in provincial Ireland throughout the nineteenth century. The establishment of institutions of learning and an increase in the number of local societies in cities and towns around the country brought groups of like-minded people together to explore their interest in the cultures of the past. In Youghal, the foundation of the Youghal Literary & Scientific Institution in 1833 was an important landmark and attracted a large number of students from the town and its hinterland. Edward Fitzgerald was born in Youghal in 1820 and qualified as an architect, a profession which helped to foster his interest in archaeology. He was in contact with many of the local antiquarians such as Samuel Hayman of Youghal, John Windele of Cork, William Hackett of Midleton and Edward Odell and William Williams of West Waterford. He was also very familiar with the work of others from outside Munster such as George Petrie and William Wakeman of Dublin. His interest in archaeology and history never waned and, even in the three years prior to his death in 1893, he wrote a series of papers relating to Youghal in the Cork Constitution newspaper. The main focus of this lecture is on Fitzgerald's fieldwork and his wide ranging interests which are gleaned from his writings and correspondence. He made a significant contribution to archaeology in the Cork/West Waterford area but his work has, for the most part, been forgotten and shrouded by 'the mists of time'. The aim is to highlight his achievements and discoveries which added much to the archaeological record for this area. Fintan Duffy examines "The Decorative architecture of Youghal as a Victorian resort town". I hope to cover the work of Deane and Woodward as well as the 'grander' buildings that were constructed after the coming of the railway. Daithi Kearney on :Singing sentiment: the role of music and song in east Cork" I suppose my approach to language and literature would be through songs. The bardic traditions of Gaelic poetry were very strong in areas such as Ballymacoda while the ballads provided a mode of expression for political thought at the time. I think they are interconnected. Bill Power: ‘GOING TO WAR IN THE NAME OF GOD - Monsignor Daniel Keller of Youghal and the Priests of Cloyne during the Land War’. In March 1887, Rev. Canon Keller, was jailed because of his activities as leader of the Plan of Campaign on the Ponsonby Estate. In Meelin, at the opposite end of Cloyne diocese, Fr Michael B. Kennedy was sentenced to two months in prison in June 1888 because of his activities as leader of the tenants on the Leader Estate. Other priests elsewhere in the diocese played leading roles in local campaigns against landlordism, and all, it would seem, with the tacit support of their bishop, Most Rev. Dr John MacCarthy. Why did some priests so strongly oppose the status quo? Why were they so willing to endure censure, criticism and even imprisonment in the cause of the poor? Who were the heroes? Who were the villains? Fintan Duffy We know a lot about the mediaeval history of Youghal ‘within the walls’ and its expansion along the quays during the 18th and 19th centuries. With the growth of the town as a seaside resort and the advent of the railway in 1860s, Youghal’s expansion continued along the beach front, forming the new suburbs of Williamstown and Lewisville. A building boom at this time saw the construction of expensive holiday villas to cater for the leisure needs of the new upper middle class. The scale and style of these villas points to the likely involvement of prominent architectural firms of the day, most notably Deane and Woodward through a possible connection with David Leopold Lewis the developer of Lewisville. This paper sets out to look in a more detailed manner at this development, through its chronology and some of personalities associated with it. It will also present a detailed fabric analysis of one of these houses in an attempt to define its architectural qualities and those of the Lewisville development itself. This paper has been prepared by Fintan Duffy, B.Arch MUBC of WIT in conjunction with Séamus Harte, B.Arch a recent graduate of WIT school of architecture. As every year – it is an action packed Celebration of History ! Come and join us this year. Contact us if you wish to be included in mail shots. Are you over 55? We have a special rate for all over 55s!! Email us for details. Electronic Payment for Conference - is now possible via a secure server. Send an email if you wish to pay by electronic transfer and we will email you a direct secure link to do so.Have you an E Mail address ? Please let us know so that we can add you to our list of contacts , you will get an occasional newsletter, an invitation to this year's conference and put us in touch with you. Don't forget you can also visit us on Facebook. We will not give your email address to anyone else. That's a promise! Previous Conference Themes 2003 - The Monastic Tradition and the contribution of Molana Abbey to the development of Canon Law in the 6th century. 2004 - Youghal’s Maritime Tradition ( including Moby Dick which was partly filmed here). 2005 -Sir Walter Raleigh and his times, his links with North America and his part in the Desmond Rebellion, Richard Boyle , first Earl of Cork. Check the Archive page to see the various papers offered. .Mobile Phone Number 087 9666554 |
