‘Ordinary people’ who work to preserve history celebrated at 2026 WAHS conference

The “ordinary people” who preserve history were celebrated at the ninth annual conference of the Westmeath Archaeological and Historical Society (WAHS), on March 28 in the Greville Arms Hotel, with support from Westmeath County Council.

In his opening speech, Myles Cosgrave of WAHS said it was a “delight” to see so many people in attendance. “Our theme today is the historians of County Westmeath, and it’s an intriguing one. The material that you get is usually about the wars and famines and changes of government, conquering territories: the big history stuff.

We all grew up with it… but that’s only part of our history. That’s the history of the aristocracy, the wealthy and the government. What we’re getting more interested in now is the history of the ordinary folk: the soldier, the sailor, the housewife, the maid, the farmer, the craftsmen, the local labourers. This isn’t the history that’s recorded by the major historians, it’s being recorded by the bards… our local historians.”

County-wide collaboration

This year’s conference was significant for bringing together all the historical societies from across Westmeath for the first time. “Often, there isn’t much connection between north and south [Westmeath]. I think that was bridged here today, and it was great networking,” said Seamus O’Brien of WAHS.

Family members of those celebrated were in attendance, which was also unusual. Mary McHugh, the daughter of Vera Hughes, was present, and the lecture on Jeremiah Sheehan was presented by his son, Dr John Sheehan. “I think it’s a first for our society, we’re nearly 50 years in existence, to hear a son talk about his father… a special experience,” said Seamus.

After welcoming everyone, Seamus added: “It’s a great celebratory day for us to remember these historians who are ‘imithe, ar shlí na firinne,’ as it were, and just in that context there, we lost another great one yesterday, Marian Keaney… a librarian and a great writer. Her magnum opus was Westmeath Authors, an absolutely marvellous work, and she did it, I think, in her late 20s, before she became county librarian. She made a huge contribution here to our story, as did Olive Sharkey, a great friend of Marian, who passed away about three or four weeks ago, and she wrote many beautiful books and was a great artist, always. We’ll just remember them both this morning before we start.”

Each speaker brought a human element to their subjects that might be missing when only their texts and achievements were looked at. Their “prodigious memories” were recognised, as was how they managed to create such significant bodies of work in addition to their many domestic and professional responsibilities. The value of local papers in relation to the subjects’ research, as well as that of the speakers, was emphasised. The importance of community work was highlighted, providing a platform for historians, and bringing people together to share and shape local stories.

From private to public spheres

Dr Anne Byrne discussed private and public spheres, how in the past, women were typically confined to the former, and how difficult it was to cross from one to the other, yet Vera Hughes managed to do it. Highly educated, Vera became confined to the private sphere due to the marriage bar and societal expectations. Anne stressed that just because a woman is “embedded” in the private sphere, it “doesn’t mean they’re not active; it doesn’t mean they’re not writing”.

“Community groups merge the private and the public,” and helped Vera to cross over, to eventually publish two books based on her meticulous historical research (after being encouraged by Jeremiah Sheehan to write her first) and being a prolific writer of letters to the Irish Times, where she had many debates with figures such as Kevin Myers, whose “sexist bilge” she condemned. Anne was “really humbled” by the “affection” that the people of Moate felt for Vera, and how willing they were to help Anne get to know her.

Dr Harman Murtagh spoke affectionately about Billy English while also illuminating his remarkable contribution to local history during his short lifetime. A founding member of the Old Athlone Society and an auctioneer by trade, Billy collected stamps, rare books and maps from a young age. “And he was interested and knowledgeable, partly through his auctioneering, on artefacts, on furniture, on silver, and china… he had a good collection of that sort of thing, what we loosely call antiques today. We used to have the early meetings of the Old Athlone Society in his front room, and it wasn’t very big. The stuff that he had acquired was stacked two and three feet against the wall, tables that were folded up and on their side, grandfather clocks, interesting prints and so on.”

According to Harman, Billy was “earnest, but he also possessed a full sense of humour with a smile that was never far away.” “He was gregarious, not in a loud way, but easy in company, easy to get along with. He had no enemies. And he respected people for what they were, mixing easily with folks of all faiths or none and all classes. He was blessed with an excellent memory. It really was a gift that he had. He was kind and generous with his knowledge, and even shared his books and antiquarian maps.”

Mullingar cultural landscape

Ruth Illingworth dedicated her talk on Leo Daly to Marian Keaney. “Everyone who works in history, local studies, in literary studies in Westmeath and in Longford owes her a great debt of gratitude because during her decades working as the county librarian for both Westmeath and Longford, and she was very supportive of historians, of writers, she had great enthusiasms for the literary heritage and history of the midlands, she supported Leo in many of his endeavours, and they were great friends,” said Ruth.

Ruth painted a vivid picture of Leo. She mentioned his “deep compassion for people suffering from mental health issues”, as well as being at the centre of an “extraordinary degree of cultural activity” in Mullingar. Leo wrote for national and local newspapers, the Aer Lingus magazine ‘Cara’, and appeared many times on RTÉ radio including Sunday Miscellany. “He was the first person to take any interest in Joyce’s connection to Mullingar”, and became a renowned Joycean scholar who spoke regularly at international conferences. The founder of WAHS and several theatre groups, his plays and short stories won multiple awards, and in his latter years, he began writing poetry.

Ruth recalled how photographer and author Matt Nolan once described Leo as “the heart, the soul of Mullingar” and how locals “lined up to shake hands with him”. She concluded with a quote from Leo, from the inaugural WAHS meeting: “Only through the efforts of local organisations could sites and monuments be preserved and destruction avoided, and people could become responsible custodians of the treasures of the past.”

Scholars and characters

Ciara O’Hara had the pleasure of meeting Kitty Flynn twice, when interviewing her for the Westmeath Examiner. Kitty was modest and reluctant to talk about herself. Nevertheless, they had memorable conversations about art, history, poetry, nature and even Arsenal Football Club, as Kitty was an avid supporter. Ciara recalled Kitty’s inquisitive nature and eloquent vocabulary, as well as her wit, and how she was never without the laptop she learned to use at the age of 83, when studying for a diploma and subsequently a degree in Community and Family Studies from the University of Galway. She graduated at the age of 88. Kitty was involved with many community groups, was instrumental in the restoration of Locke’s Distillery, wrote and contributed to several publications, and was described by fellow historian and friend Stan McCormack as “a gift to Kilbeggan”.

Paul Gosling described John Casey, who died in 1858, as “a character” he has become “fascinated by over the last five or six years”. One of the first people to write about the Táin, John “has a place in the history of the study of Westmeath and its past heritage” after witnessing “huge changes in the whole perception, self-perception, of Irish people”, and becoming part of a movement to “give credence to the idea that we had a history which was richer and much longer than the colonists would have had us believe”.

Originally from Kerry, John was a national teacher who taught in Milltown school in Rathconrath, and a “tremendous committee man”. Mentioned frequently in the Westmeath Examiner, “he gave interesting copy to the reporters who had to attend these endless meetings of the vocational agriculture committee, or the library committee, or the National Teachers Association, all of which bodies John Casey was active in. He was voluble, and he was opinionated, and it would have relieved the tedium of a lot of these meetings when Casey turned up and gave his colourful interventions.”

Dr Nollaig Ó Muraíle spoke about Fr Paul Walsh, who became parish priest in Multyfarnham in 1932, and began his career as a professor in Maynooth. Although well learned, he was “reputedly a poor lecturer,” because he was “extremely shy and soft-spoken” and crucially, “less interested in the subject he was required to teach, that is, ecclesiastical history, than in the various aspects of Irish history and Gaelic learning”.

The author of more than 20 books and more than 300 articles, Walsh was “forever supplementing his own previously published work” and “with all his great learning, he was a man of modesty” who had a “hatred of pretension and pseudo-learning”.

“A most productive scholar in the fields of Irish history and learning, a tireless researcher and versatile, innovative scholar. In his relatively short life, he left a fruitful legacy, so it is most appropriate that his memory be kept alive, especially in his native Westmeath, on which, through his work, he shared considerable lustre,” concluded Nollaig.

Feet on land

John Sheehan spoke about his father, author Jeremiah Sheehan. Originally from West Cork, he studied Agricultural Science in UCD and came to Westmeath to work as an agricultural advisor, “getting his feet on the ground on farms, getting to know the farmers, the custodians of South Westmeath history, and seeing monuments and sites”.

As well as a literary and historical legacy, Jeremiah left a lasting impact on agriculture in the region. Instrumental in establishing the Snowcream co-operative in Moate, he persuaded Westmeath farmers to buy the more productive Friesians. “If you drive around south Westmeath today, you see Friesians all over the place. But if you were there in 1950, you wouldn’t have seen any,” said John.

Farmers, students and historians would frequently call to the family home, and the proofs of Jeremiah’s last book “were on the way to him when he died”. As John prepared his lecture, he admired Jeremiah even more than ever, realising how “with all the other demands on his time, he managed to achieve so much historically”.

Meticulous research

As the conference drew to a close, Seamus thanked attendees and supporters, and praised the speakers: “There’s months of work gone into it, a lifetime of reflection, and they really need to be appreciated.”

Seamus summarised the day’s proceedings: “Dr Anne Byrne talked about the meticulous research of Vera Hughes. She exemplified that herself in the huge work she put in to research, going to the National Library, interviewing people for hours down in the Moate environs. It was a tour de force. And it was the first time, I think, that Vera Hughes was talked about in public in such detail. It was a special moment.

“Followed by Dr Harman Murtagh, and he talked about Billy English and the huge contribution he made to history… and I was talking to someone here today. We talked about Billy English before the lecture. And after, he said, ‘I thought I knew him, but I had to come to Mullingar to find out.’ And in Mullingar, it was great to hear that. It was a marvellous lecture by Harman, as you would expect from a man who has produced his scholarly work in maths and in the history of medieval Athlone.

“Ruth, this is her ninth consecutive contribution, she’s heading for the decade next year, and gets better every year. I thought I knew Leo Daly, knew about him, and like the person from Athlone there, we learned so much today of his great scholarship, his great courage in leaving a well-paid, pensionable job early in his career and devoting himself entirely to a creative life… the contribution he made here to Mullingar’s cultural life in drama, in history, and in heritage.

“Ciara gave a lovely talk about Kitty Flynn. And we heard of her humility and her lack of desire to talk about herself or blow her own trumpet. And yet she was so much involved in every aspect of Kilbeggan, in the distillery, in Coola Mills, in committees, in cultural organisations, and of course, in writing as well.

“Paul is a regular contributor to our society, both in the journal and as a field worker all over the county. We’re privileged that he’s taken an interest in Westmeath. He’s contributed so much to it and I want to personally express our appreciation for that. He came at a pivotal moment in our history, a turning point, when we really discovered a much longer history and a different conversation about who we were. A man who came up from Kerry… and made a huge contribution to our county’s history, particularly in the story of the Táin, and of course exemplified the huge contribution of national school teachers, particularly in the Folklore Commission, to our history.

“Nollaig has given huge years to the study of Paul Walsh, and demonstrated the huge research he did on the annals and genealogies. And of course, he was a great scholar. He went out and talked to the people in Multyfarnham, going around on a bike, I thought it was lovely. It was a nice leaven to the huge scholarship and intellectual heft of Fr Paul Walsh.

“And finally, what a storyteller, John Sheehan. You can see where he got it, perhaps, from his father… [John] pointed out that cultural triangle in south Westmeath that we’re a bit jealous of: Athlone, Moate and Kilbeggan… Jeremiah was very much central to that. In all the times I read his material. I was jealous that I didn’t have all those opportunities to talk to farmers, to walk the land. But many hundreds more officials did that and didn’t reflect on where they were, or write it up. Jeremiah did it, and we are all the better for it.”