Well if we were worried that moving October’s talk from the last Wednesday of the month to the first Friday of November was going to make it difficult for people to attend, we were proved wrong! On Friday night last we welcomed an incredible 120+ people who were all keen to listen to acclaimed oral and local historian Tomás Mac Conmara deliver a comprehensive history of the Scarriff Martyrs.
The audience was made up of relatives of those involved in that part of history, those who continue to commemorate it locally, as well as political historians and our usual history-hungry local crowd! Many also attended to hear the wonderful music played at the beginning and end of the lecture. This was provided by local group Cailíní Lua, who really brought history to life for us as they evoked the atmosphere and emotion surrounding the shooting of ‘The Four Who Fell’ on Killaloe Bridge almost a century ago.
Thank you to both Tomás Mac Conmara for sharing his time and his amazingly in-depth scholarship so generously with us. Thank you to Cailíní Lua too, whose renditions added so much to the evening.
Our November lecture is coming on the 28th and will be on the history of Ballina! Stay tuned for more details.
Killaloe-Ballina