Landmark edition of South Mayo town’s history journal
The tenth edition of Clann Mhuiris, the annual journal of Claremorris Historical Society, will be launched by well-known broadcaster and journalist Liamy MacNally, on Friday, November 13 at 7.45 p.m., in Claremorris Library. Refreshments will be served and all are welcome.
This landmark tenth edition features a wide variety of articles beginning as always with a selection of interesting photographs from the Main Street Gathering archives, featuring photographs of local people and places, some dating as far back as the 1880’s.
The announcement by the Government that the railway from Mayo to Galway is to reopen has prompted two articles for this year’s edition. The first is a short history of the railway in Claremorris and its social and economic impact on the life of the community, written by Frank Dawson, rail historian and campaigner, whose family has railway connections going back three generations. The second is a reproduction of a famous and poignant account of the closure of the service from Claremorris to Limerick in April 1976 written by the celebrated Western Correspondent of The Irish Times, the late Michael Finlan.
The stories of the Gilligan and Kean(e) families, two longstanding business names in Claremorris since the nineteenth century, are related by Pat Keane and Andrea Kean respectively.
Jarlath Sweeney contributes an interesting piece about a recently discovered Claremorris calendar dating from 1926 that features advertisements for a number of local businesses at that time, while the lost work of local photographer P. W. Leamy is brought back to life in a fascinating piece by Aishling Cunniffe.
Assistant editor Michael Kelly traces the remarkable life of a forgotten Claremorris Fenian, Michael J. Louden, including a personal account of his imprisonment in Galway Gaol following the rising of 1867. On a similar theme, ‘Hidden History’ tells the story of a group of Claremorris Republican prisoners incarcerated in England in the 1940’s, including a detailed account of their trial and conviction and the protracted campaign for their release.
In a meticulously researched and detailed article, John Coakley discusses the subject of land and people in Clanmorris in the years 1838-1914 against the backdrop of the growth and development of the town of Claremorris in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Priced at just €12, and featuring many rare photographs, Clann Mhuiris, will once again make an ideal Christmas gift for Claremorris people both at home and abroad.
The edition will be available from the usual outlets in Claremorris.