Launch date confirmed for new book on Mayo’s forgotten Land War history
A powerful new work of historical research is set to reshape public understanding of Ireland’s Land War and spotlight a remarkable chapter long overlooked by historians, with the new book set to be launched by Minister Dara Calleary on Thursday, December 4 at 7.30 p.m. in the Erris Coast Hotel.
In Land War: Mayo’s Forgotten Conflicts, medical doctor and historian Dr Maura Irwin brings to life two dramatic and largely forgotten episodes of violence, injustice and extraordinary female leadership on the northwest fringes of Mayo.
In late 1881, the village of Graughill, Inver, Belmullet became the scene of tragedy when 22-year-old Ellen McDonagh and 60-year-old Mary Deane were killed during a confrontation with local police, one stabbed, the other shot.
Only months later, early in 1882, the region was again plunged into turmoil when landlord George Tilson Shaen Carter was maimed and a local ‘informer’ was murdered in his bed.
Though overshadowed in mainstream history, these events reverberated far beyond Erris and Mayo.
They were reported to Dublin Castle, debated on the floor of Westminster, and closely followed by Irish communities across New York, Boston, Canada and Australia, who were horrified by events unfolding in their native lands.
Dr. Maura Irwin’s research shows how these conflicts took place during an era of profound upheaval, when state power, landlordism, medical inequality and community resistance collided.
A standout contribution of the book is its powerful reframing of women’s leadership.
The Ladies’ Land League, which assumed responsibility in October 1881 when its male counterparts were jailed, emerged as a critical force, providing economic, legal and political support to the poorest families.
Their intervention ensured that the reality of these injustices reached national and international audiences.
When the male leadership of the Land League was imprisoned in 1881, the Ladies’ Land League stepped forward, becoming Ireland’s first female-led political organisation.
Their economic, political and legal support for the Graughill community ensured that the story of these killings reached national and international attention.
Drawing on rich primary sources, including memoirs, parliamentary papers, contemporary newspapers and manuscript materials, Land War: Mayo’s Forgotten Conflicts presents an accessible, vividly written and meticulously researched account of two incidents that challenge conventional periodisations of the Land War and expand the historical narrative around rural conflict, policing and social justice in 19th-century Ireland.
Attendees are asked to RSVP to landwarmirwin@gmail.com for the launch on Thursday, December 4, at 7.30 pm in the Erris Coast Hotel, Geesala (F26 H6C2).