Fantastic turn out for toddler Storytime in Castlepollard Library. Why not come along next Friday for a live reading of two picture books. All welcome. Toddler Storytime will continue into Autumn and will take place the first Friday in every month, starting September 2nd, October 7th, November 4th and December 2nd. It is a wonderful […]
As the summer season ends perhaps you are considering doing a course to up-skill? Or are you thinking of taking up a hobby or training in something new and different? Why not drop into Castlepollard Library on Wednesday the 31st of August between 10am and 1pm to meet with Niamh Penrose from the Longford Westmeath […]
LOTE online for kids is now available to all members of Westmeath Libraries. This is an online database of digital picture books in World Languages that allows children to enjoy the magic of books in Languages Other Than English. There are 1500+ digital picture books in 50+ languages, with new books and languages released each […]
by Ian Kenneally ‘A thrill of horror’, according to the Westmeath Independent, ‘of shame, of despair, of the deepest distress went through the length and breadth of our land on Wednesday morning last when it was learned that General Michael Collins had been shot dead in Cork. Another great Irishman is gone; another great loss has […]
Ian Kenneally In the previous article, we explored the circumstances that led to the shooting dead of George Adamson in April 1922. Here, we look in more detail at the subsequent propaganda battle in which both pro- and anti-Treaty forces blamed each other for Adamson’s death. That propaganda battle began with, as discussed in the […]
In an earlier edition of the blog we discussed the shooting dead of George Adamson in April 1922. In that article, Dr John Gibney described Adamson’s career and the local reaction to Adamson’s death. It was an event that shocked people in Westmeath and nationally. Here, we look in more detail at the subsequent propaganda battle in which both pro- and anti-Treaty forces blamed each other for Adamson’s death.
by Ian Kenneally During the Irish Civil War, Custume Barracks served both as a headquarters for the Provisional Government’s National Army and as a vast prison for captured members of the anti-Treaty IRA. Although Custume Barracks briefly housed prisoners in April 1922 following the shooting dead of George Adamson, it was not until the summer […]
by Dr Paul Hughes In one of the sitting TDs for Longford-Westmeath, Laurence Ginnell, anti-Treaty republicans had a powerful propagandist in their camp after the outbreak of civil war. A veteran of the Irish Press Agency, the publicity arm of Irish nationalists in Britain set up during the late 1880s, Ginnell put his experience to […]
Westmeath Libraries hosted a variety of online events in 2021 celebrating diversity and sharing experiences involving participants from a wide variety of backgrounds as Westmeath emerged from COVID. The programme celebrates neurodiversity and mental health as well as promoting equality and opportunities for all, and highlights the library as a community space for all. Creative […]
Industrial heritage reflects the connection between the cultural and natural environment and is part of our social history. In 2019 a project to record the Industrial Heritage of Westmeath was carried out under Action 2.1 of The Westmeath Heritage Plan; addressing gaps in existing datasets (few industrial heritage sites are recorded in National Inventory of […]