Our first lecture of 2018 took place on Wednesday night in our new home of Wood and Bell Café on Main St, Killaloe. Wood and Bell Café kindly took us in after our numbers of attendees grew too large to fit in Killaloe Library anymore. Thank you so much Wood and Bell! Please support them by going and drinking lots of their delicious coffee!
It was a good thing we moved to the larger space, as we welcomed 130 people to Wednesday night’s talk on the history of 376 islands in Lough Derg. Ger Madden took us on a fantastic illustrated journey around the lake, moving from early eighteenth-century maps, to the rising of the water level in the 1930s, to what historic remnants remain to be seen on a modern day boating trip. We were all enthralled, and many people snapped up copies of his book on the topic. If you were not able to get one on the night (they sold out pretty quickly), you can order one online here.
Wood and Bell kept the café open throughout the talk, and for a long while afterwards, so we were able to continue the conversation in the front area while snacking on pastries and cookies, and sipping on cups of tea or glasses of wine. We got very comfortable! Ger fielded questions about the lake islands, and there was no limit to the generous knowledge that he shared with us.
The Society would like to thank Ger for his excellent talk, Wood and Bell for our new home, and Scéal Eile Books for giving us a gift voucher to present to Ger.
Please support Ger’s important work by purchasing his books, or taking one of his Holy Island boat trips from April to September. The book accompanying the talk he gave us was cowritten with Shane Creamer, and can be purchased here. Give Ger a follow on Facebook here! Why not follow Wood and Bell while you are at it!
The next lecture will take place on Wednesday 28th February, at 7pm, in Wood and Bell Café (we will be in the large back room area). We will be welcoming back our November speaker, the hugely popular Brian J. Goggin, to give us a follow-up to his lecture then. It is titled Scale, Rail, and Mail: Why Killaloe Lost Its Steamer Fleet, and will follow the departures of steamers from Killaloe and their journeys to London, Newfoundland, and even Alexandria, before their eventual return and abandonment in Killaloe.
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