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“Knockma of the Great Kings”: A Forgotten Royal and Ritual Site in County Galway, Ireland.

Posted on by Séan Ó Duibhir
In the last 30 years excellent progress has been made in analysing the royal and ritual sites of Ireland: Newgrange and the Boyne Valley, the hill of Uisneach – known as the navel of Ireland, Emain Macha in Armagh, and Tara, among others. The westernmost royal and ritual site is considered to be Cruachan in County Roscommon, which nonetheless lies by the Shannon River along the centre of the island. In the most ancient records, however, another site is named further west, that of the hill of Knockma in County Galway, which bears all the hallmarks of a royal and ritual landscape: literary, genealogical, archaeological and archaeo-astronomical. This talk will discuss Knockma as a prehistoric landscape, an early Christian cult centre, and as the forgotten birthplace of the ancestors of the Uí Briúin medieval kings of Connacht. Dr. Jessica Cooke is a graduate of the University of Dublin and the University of Cambridge. She is an affiliate member of the Centre of Ancient, Medieval and Pre-modern Studies at the Moore Institute in the University of Galway. Her current research interests include an examination of Knockma’s significance in West Connacht from prehistory up until the middle ages, an area which has… Read the rest
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Éadaí na hÉireann – de réir staire, finscéalta, seandálaíochta agus sanasaíochta

Posted on by Daren
Ní mar a shíltear a bhítear. Is iomaí mí-thuiscint atá ag daoine ar cén saghas éadaí a bhí á gcaitheamh ag daoine anseo fadó. Tá liosta mór fada d’fháthanna leis sin agus ina measc is féidir linn an locht a chur ar Hollywood, na Sasanaigh, faisean, polaitíocht agus ár n-aeráid, dár ndóigh. Fiú leis na dúshláin sin, tá foinsí ar fáil chun tiacht ar eolas atá caillte le cuimhne na seacht sinsear. I léacht léargasach agus shuairc, beidh Tonaí Ó Roduibh ag dul i bhfad níos faide siar ná plé ar chultacha leipreachán, féillí beaga agus báiníní le cabhair ó shean-cháipéisí scríofa ag Gaeil agus ag Gaill agus ón seandálaíocht. ‘Item, that no man, nor man child, do wear no mantles in the streets, but cloaks or gowns… doublets and hose, shaped after the English fashion, of the country cloth or any other cloth [it] shall please them to buy. Item, that no man, woman, or child, do wear in their shirts or smocks, or any other garments, no saffron, nor have any more cloth in their shirts or smocks, but 5 standard ells of that country cloth.‘ Litir ón rí Sasanach Anraí VIII go Gaillimh. Nasc chuig an léacht… Read the rest
Category:Latest News, Previous Lectures, Uncategorized
TaggedGaeilge, gahs
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Lecture 9th September 2019

Posted on by Séan Ó Duibhir
Some Town Castles of Galway by Patrick Larkin The first GAHS lecture of the new 2019/20 season will take place on Monday 9th September at the Harbour Hotel. In medieval times, the saying that ‘a man’s home is his castle’ was a reasonable reflection of reality. This was entirely apposite in the case of the aristocracy and merchant classes whose warrior culture would identify with the defence possibilities offered by castles as residences. Over time, such castles evolved with changes in culture, and the way they were used changed too. Galway’s town castles were no different, and this illustrated talk will explore the evolution of the town castle as demonstrated in the city of the tribes.   Harbour Hotel, Galway, Monday, September 9th at 8pm.… Read the rest
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Lecture April 8th 2019

Posted on by Séan Ó Duibhir
A History of Irish Dance by Hubert Jennings A first for GAHS! Despite it being one of the most popular forms of entertainment for many centuries, in our 119 year existence it looks like we have never looked at the history of dancing. Hubert Jennings will guide us on a whistle-stop tour through the ages on the subject of Irish Dance – its changes and development. It will cover the dance masters of the 19th century, their flamboyant demeanour  and modus operandi. The talk will sketch the main social, cultural, economic, religious, political, legal and technological influences brought to bear on the development of our traditional dance and the reciprocal impact on those characteristics of society from the first ceilí in London in 1898 to Riverdance 1994. There will be an outline on traditional dance development in Galway City from the 1930s and some of the main players who promoted this part of our cultural heritage for recreation and competition. The lecture will take place at the Harbour Hotel, New Docks, Galway on Monday 8th of April at 8pm. Admission is free of charge and all are welcome to attend.  … Read the rest
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Lecture 11th March 2019

Posted on by Séan Ó Duibhir
The First Dáil by Dr. Séan O Duibhir January 2019 marked the centenary of the inaugural meeting of the first Dáil Éireann. Dr. Séan Ó Duibhir, will discuss the practical, and symbolic, features of the Irish State’s ‘foundation moment’. This lecture will also consider aspects often overlooked within popular history: such as the preparations for the Dáil’s first meeting in the Mansion House on 21 January 1919; the nature and importance of the four documents adopted by the (limited number of) delegates present; and the rationale behind the decision to largely model Ireland’s ‘revolutionary’ parliament on that of the ‘old enemy’ at Westminster. The lecture will take place at the Harbour Hotel, New Docks, Galway on Monday 11th of March at 8pm.… Read the rest
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Lecture 11th February 2019

Posted on by Séan Ó Duibhir
Roscommon Castle, the Otherworld and the True Cross Prof. Tadgh O’Keeffe Roscommon Castle’s site and situation have long been a puzzle, as they seem somewhat inconsistent with the evidence that the castle was a fortress intended to keep the native Irish at bay. This lecture offers a new perspective on the context of the castle’s construction and suggests that the explanation for its location involves both the Táin Bó Cúailnge and the relic of the True Cross. Prof. Tadhg O’Keeffe is Head of UCD School of Archaeology. One of Ireland’s best-known medievalists, he has published five books and over 150 papers on aspects of medieval archaeology and history. Monday 11th February 2019 at 8 pm Harbour Hotel, New Docks, Galway… Read the rest
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Lecture 14 January 2019

Posted on by Séan Ó Duibhir
Galway and the Spanish Armada The first GAHS lecture of 2019 will be given by Peadar O’Dowd who takes a look at the sorry events surrounding the fate of the men and boys of the Spanish Armada in Galway. Around 300 Spanish sailors were murdered by the English authorities and buried in a mass grave at Forthill Cemetery. It is now marked by a plaque unveiled by the Spanish Ambassador to Ireland in 1988 on the 400th anniversary of the atrocity. The lecture will be followed by the society’s Annual General Meeting. The event is free of charge and all are welcome. We hope to see you there. Extract from Hardiman’s History of Galway. In order the more effectually to satiate his thirst for their blood, and to seize their rumoured treasures, the lord deputy himself [Sir William Fitz-Williams] made a journey into Connaught, where this sanguinary man arrived in June, 1589, and on the 20th of that month he came to Galway. Sir Murrough O’Flaherty, William Burke, the blind Abbot, and several others of the principal inhabitants of Mayo and Iar Connaught, came in and submitted; but were put under conditions to give hostages, disperse their forces, deliver up… Read the rest
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