As part of the Westmeath County Council Decade of Centenaries programme, applications are invited for the Historian in Residence Grant Scheme 2023. The Residency is supported by the Decade of Centenaries Programme, Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media in partnership with Westmeath County Council. Two Residencies will run in 2023, each for […]
Over many decades in Westmeath, precious memories of times gone by have been recorded by groups and individuals in an effort to document what are often fading memories of our past. Now, Westmeath County Council, with funding from Creative Ireland, are undertaking a major audit of these collections, to compile a list for the first […]
Diarmaid Ferriter’s new history of the Irish Civil War seeks to get at the human experience and day-to-day texture of the war and its aftermath. In Between Two Hells, combat itself is skimmed over quickly. Other books have dealt with the strictly military side of things, but Ferriter has other interests. He has delved into […]
Do you enjoy reading non-fiction books? Is history your favourite topic to delve into? In that case maybe the shortlist of this year's Wolfson History Prize will provide you with some new and engaging reading. This prize has been awarded annually for more than 40 years and recognises and celebrates books which combine excellence in […]
Historic buildings such as this early 1800 cottage are a symbol of how life was in years gone by. These vernacular buildings are a very special aspect of the Westmeath landscape and I feel they need to be explored more. Not too many of these sights can be seen throughout the world and we should […]
An Irish Woman in Czarist Russia by Jean Lombard is an amazing read. The book centres on the life of Kathleen Ffrench (1864-1938) daughter of Robert Percy Ffrench an Irish Diplomat and Sophie Alexandrovna Kindiakova a Russian heiress. Kathleen went on to inherit her father’s Irish Castle at Monivea, Galway, Ireland and her Russian grandfather’s […]