Drogheda Fenians Return 13th & 14th July

We have a fantastic line-up for you this weekend, starting with our Genealogy day on Sat 13th where you can come along and learn how to trace your ancestors. We'll have a team standing by all day from 9.30am to 5.00pm in the Tholsel to help you with your queries and help point you in the right direction to start looking; that includes websites, local history sources and literary sources. David Snook of irishmariners.com will also be present, so if your ancestor was a mariner, David can help you trace them! Could you be related to someone famous? Or to a hero or a villain? Who knows what you'll discover once you start looking!

On Sunday 14th July is our main event, The Gathering Festival Party! Taking place from 2pm to 5pm in Millmount Cultural Quarter, it's a free fun-filled day for all the family with music, song and dance. There will be re-enactors, crafts, food stalls, traditional games, Museum and Tower free admission (so you can take fantastic views of the town in this beautiful weather) and the cannons will be fired to mark the occasion.
Music will be provided by Realta - award-winning trad group from Belfast, Huey & the Hobgoblins  Drogheda Orchestral Collective, Watery Hill boys, and many more. It's going to be a fantastic day, you'd be mad to miss it!

Packed Houses at "Drogheda Fenians Return" Gathering Event

The Drogheda Museum / Old Drogheda Society's Gathering event, titled "The Drogheda Fenians Return" - a 10 day long festival to welcome home the descendants of the Drogheda Fenians of 1867 - has been an astonishing success.

Despite the heat wave weather the crowds have been packing in to our Lunchtime Presentation series in the Tholsel each day at 1pm and there is a constant stream of visitors to our "Who Were the Drogheda Fenians?"

Exhibition in Drogheda Museum Millmount.

A huge crowd followed Community Historian Brendan Matthews on his Fenian Town Walk on Tues evening and Brendan again had a capacity audience in Millmount on Wed night for his Old Drogheda Society Lecture on "New Light on the Drogheda Fenians". Brendan brings the forgotten characters of
Drogheda history back to life in a vivid way and he speaks about these people as if he knew them - which in a way he does .... his research on their lives has been so meticulous and insightful.

Most moving moment of the week was Wednesday's Lunchtime Presentation by Juliana Flinn, great-grandaughter of Thomas Flinn of Duke Street who was one of the 3 "Centres" or Leaders of the Fenian Movement in Drogheda and who had to flee to America after the failed Rising of 1867. A large group
of the Flinn family had traveled from the U.S.A. specially for this event and on Wed they were re-united with long-lost branches of the family from the Drogheda area and also from Britain. The "Wild Geese" were welcomed home on behalf of the people of Drogheda by Cllr. Richie Culhane, 414th Mayor of the Town.

Once again, many thanks to Noelle Bowe who gets news of these events up on her Facebook page almost as soon as they are over    .... check them out here.

• Old Drogheda Society - History, Archaeology & Heritage, Millmount, Drogheda, Co. Louth, Ireland. Tel. 041-9833097

Shedding New Light on the Drogheda Fenians

Lecture reminder

Wed July 10th - 8pm  – Governor’s House, Millmount – Old Drogheda Society Lecture: New Light on the Drogheda Fenians by Brendan Matthews, well known community historian, who has unearthed some very interesting facts regarding the Fenian movement in Drogheda.

All are welcome.

• Old Drogheda Society - History, Archaeology & Heritage, Millmount, Drogheda, Co. Louth, Ireland. Tel. 041-9833097

Tholsel Lunchtime Presentations

Last minute reminder:

Wed July 10th - 1pm – The Tholsel Lunchtime Presentations

Official Welcome by Mayor Richie Culhane to those attending the Gathering followed by lunchtime lecture.

Professor Juliana Flinn, great-grand-daughter of Thomas Flinn of Duke Street, who was the leader of the Drogheda Fenians in 1867, tells of his adventures after he fled from Drogheda and became a prominent engineer and inventor in the USA.


All are welcome

• Old Drogheda Society - History, Archaeology & Heritage, Millmount, Drogheda, Co. Louth, Ireland. Tel. 041-9833097

Wed 10th July - Drogheda Fenians Return

DON'T FORGET!

Tomorrow afternoon Wednesday 10th July at 1pm in the Tholsel sees a very special lunchtime presentation from Dr. Julianna Flinn, the great-grand-daughter of Thomas Flinn who was one of the leaders of the Drogheda Fenians in 1867. Dr. Flinn will tell of his adventures after he fled from Drogheda and became a prominent engineer and inventor in the U.S.A.

Dr. Flinn will also be officially welcomed by the Mayor of Drogheda as part of the Gathering Celebration.

Then at 8pm on Wed 10th July there will be a brand new lecture by community historian Brendan Matthews in the Governor's House in Millmount - New Light on the Drogheda Fenians - where he examines the lives of the Drogheda Fenians and tells their stories, from natives to exiles.

Col Leonard Banner Trail

Please note there will be a bus travelling to the Drogheda Fenians Return Gathering Event - "The Col Leonard Banner Trail" on Sunday next July 7th, leaving Our Lady of Lourdes Church at 2.15pm and picking up outside Marian Park shops at 2.30pm to travel to Monknewtown Slane. The bus will return at 6.15pm Return fare €5 ( also open to friends who are not members).

Bookings at Drogheda Museum Millmount 041-9833097 or info@droghedamuseum.ie

The event starts at 3pm with a parade from the Tourist's Rest Pub, Rossin (Dolly Mitchells) to the nearby Monknewtown Cemetery for a ceremony at the grave of the leader of Drogheda's Fenians, Col Patrick Leonard. For information on Leonard whose death led to a demonstration of Fenian support and it was reported that 9,000 people attended his funeral. For many years, massive crowds accompanied by several bands marched from Drogheda to Monknewtown to commemorate his anniversary.

The parade will feature replicas of the Drogheda Guild Banners, on show in Drogheda Museum Millmount and painted by William Reynolds, a cousin of Leonard.

After the celebration in the cemetery there will be an afternoon of music, dance, story telling and poetry in the Tourist's Rest, music by Eitlean, the popular local traditional band.

This event will be attended by relatives of the Drogheda Fenians who were forced to flee the country in 1867, and it is hoped for a good turn out of Old Drogheda Society Members.

To book please ring Liam or Kathleen at Drogheda Museum Drogheda 041-9833097 or e-mail
info@droghedamuseum.ie


For details of all the events in the Drogheda Fenians Return Gathering see www.droghedamuseum.ie

• Old Drogheda Society - History, Archaeology & Heritage, Millmount, Drogheda, Co. Louth, Ireland.

• Tel. 041-9833097

An Ancestor of Your Own Perhaps?

DON'T FORGET! 

Launch of new exhibition: "Who Were the Drogheda Fenians?" - A social history of the Drogheda Fenians and their times.

Venue: Drogheda Museum 6:30pm Today Thurs 4th July 2013

Perhaps an ancestor of your own in the story?

Wine & nibbles

Old Drogheda Society - History, Archaeology & Heritage
Millmount, Drogheda, Co. Louth, Ireland. Tel. 041-9833097

Drogheda Fenians Return - Day Five & Six

     

Wednesday 10th July at 1pm sees a very special Tholsel Lunchtime Presentation. Dr. Julianna Flinn, great-grand-daughter of Thomas Flinn, millwright, of Duke St., who was one of the leaders of the Drogheda Fenians in 1867, will tell of his adventures after he fled from Drogheda and became a prominent engineer and  inventor in the U.S.A.

Dr. Flinn will also be officially welcomed by the Mayor of Drogheda as part of the Gathering Celebration.

Then at 8pm on Wed 10th July there will be a brand new lecture by community historian Brendan Matthews in the Governor's House in Millmount - New Light on the Drogheda Fenians - where he examines the lives of the Drogheda Fenians and tells their stories, from natives to exiles.

On Thursday 11th July at 1pm the Tholsel Lunchtime lecture focuses on - The Radical Political Thought of John Boyle O'Reilly - delivered by Ian Kenneally, author of the definitive biography of Boyle O'Reilly 'From The Earth, A Cry'.

Celebration of Fenian leader and his banner painter cousin

 Old Drogheda Society 28/06/2013: Press Release

As part of the Drogheda Museum/Old Drogheda Society’s Gathering event to welcome home the descendants of the Drogheda Fenians of 1867 there will be a re-enactment of the annual march of the Drogheda Banners to the memorial to Col. Patrick Leonard in Monknewtown Cemetery on Sun next 7^th July at 3pm. 

This will be followed at 4pm by a celebration in the function room of the Tourists Rest – better known as “Dolly Mitchell’s” – with music by trad super-band Eitleán and an illustrated presentation of the Drogheda Museum’s famous banners.

Begrath man Patrick Leonard was a Colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War and returned to Ireland as a flamboyant Fenian leader – the “Scarlet Pimpernel” of his day! He often appeared openly in his full American Army Officer’s uniform around Drogheda as a sign of open defiance to the authorities.

Artist William Reynolds from Tullyallen was a cousin of Leonard’s  and was the painter of many of the Trades Banners now in the Drogheda Museum Millmount.

The Drogheda Banners – known as “the Flags of Drogheda” were famous in the 19^th century and were in huge demand for demonstrations and events all over the country.

The Old Drogheda Society are running a bus out to the event leaving Lourdes Church at 2:15 and Marian Park at 3:30, cost only €5 and everybody welcome.

We have no images of Col. Leonard – the above illustration shows the Union Army colonel’s uniform

Drogheda Fenians Return - Day Three & Four

Monday 8th July at 1pm sees the start of our Tholsel Lunchtime Presentations.

The first of the week long presentations is "In The Great Dismal Swamp - John Boyle O'Reilly, Canoeist and Sports Enthusiast". There will be a general introduction to the week by Sean Corcoran, Chairperson of the Old Drogheda Society and a Director of Drogheda Museum, and there will also be contributions from Claidhbh Ó Gibne, artist and currach-maker who owns and operates the Boyne Currach Centre in Donore, Co. Meath, and also from Silver Bridge Kayak Club and Drogheda Boxing Club.

O'Reilly on the Delaware River

It is little known about John Boyle O'Reilly that not only was he a radical intellectual and poet but also an international figure in the social development of sport; particularly canoeing and boxing. His accounts of canoeing trips, particularly to The Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia are regarded as classics.

Here's a link to some of his writings on canoeing:
http://www.eldritchpress.org/jbo/conn.htm

Drogheda Fenian Laurence Fulham

In the Tholsel at 1pm on Tuesday 9th July there is the second of our Lunchtime Presentations -
The Fenians and Photography - speaker Liam Kelly, author of 'Photographs and Photography in Irish Local History' (2008) will discuss the use of the camera and photography in Irish daily life, and its use by the authorities to aid in the identification of criminals using mugshots. There will also be contributions from the Drogheda Photographic Club using period equipment.










To round off Tuesday 9th July, at 7pm there will be a Fenian Town Walk led by community historian Brendan Matthews which will take in the main sites related to the Drogheda Fenians. Assembly is at the West court Hotel, West St., Drogheda and the duration is one hour.

'Drogheda Fenians Return' Gathering Celebration

         

                  Welcome home the descendants of the Drogheda Fenians of 1867!

This year as part of The Gathering celebration, whose emphasis is to welcome home the many Irish and their descendants that have emigrated over the years, Drogheda Museum has chosen to welcome back the descendants of the Drogheda Fenians. This year marks the 146th anniversary of the failed Fenian Uprising of 1867, after which many of the local Fenian members were forced to flee the country.

"The Fenians" was the popular name for a mass political movement called The Fenian Brotherhood or the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) which flourished in Ireland and among the Irish in America & Britain in the second half of the 19th century. They advocated an independent Ireland with votes for all and a nationalisation of agricultural land, and also the complete separation of Church and State, which meant its members included both Protestant and Catholic. In Drogheda they included some of the best and brightest of the population, and the fact that many of them had to leave after 1867 was a great loss of life to the town.

Many of the Drogheda Fenians who fled subsequently played prominent roles in the lives of their adopted countries - mainly in the U.S.A, Canada, Australia and Britain. Many of their descendants have contacted the museum over the years trying to trace their genealogies and we have been able to piece together the dramatic life stories of their ancestors. This year we invite the descendants of the Drogheda Fenians, their extended families and friends, and indeed anyone who is interested, to a series of events in Drogheda from Thursday 4th July to Sunday 14th July 2013.

Our week-long programme kicks off on Thursday 4th July at 6.30pm in Drogheda Museum Millmount with a brand new exhibition - Who Were the Drogheda Fenians? - focusing on the local branch of the movement, and examining their social history and the times they lived in.


On Sun 7th July at 3pm there is an excellent historical walk taking place to Monknewtown Cemetery - The Col. Leonard Banner Trail - lead by community historian Brendan Matthews, there will be a parade of the Drogheda Trade & Guild Banners up to Monknewtown Cemetery where Col. Leonard is buried. Assembly will be in the car park of the Tourists Rest pub, Rossin, on the main Drogheda to Slane road ("Dolly Mitchell's") with descendants of Col. Leonard and William Reynolds present.

 Afterwards at 4pm there will be an exhibition of the Banners and a celebration of their artist William Reynolds in the Tourists Rest function room along with music from local trad group Eitleán.

Never fear, there will be a bus available to shuttle people to the Tourists Rest and back into Drogheda so people can enjoy a drink or two whilst enjoying the music. The bus departs from the Lourdes Church at 2.15pm SHARP and also from Marian Park at 2.30pm SHARP and returns at 6.15pm in the evening. The fare for the bus is 5 euro.




Col. Patrick Leonard from Tullyallen was a major Fenian leader on both sides of the Atlantic and after his death in 1873 an annual commemoration attracted crowds of many thousands from all over Ireland and Britain to his memorial in Monknewtown cemetery. The Col. Leonard Fife & Drum Band was set up in his memory, and this later became the Drogheda Brass & Reed Band. His cousin, the artist William Reynolds, painted the famous Drogheda Trade & Guild Banners and designed the memorial.

More details of the upcoming events to follow...

The Drogheda Fenians Return

                                              Drogheda Museum / old drogheda society

a “GATHERING” EVENT

the DROGHEDA FENIANS RETURN

JULY 4^th – july 14^th 2013

Welcome home the descendants of the Drogheda Fenians of 1867

“The Fenians” was the popular name for a mass political movement called The Fenian Brotherhood or The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) which flourished in Ireland and among the Irish in America and Britain in the second half of the 19^th century. It was a radical movement which aimed at an independent Ireland with votes for all and a nationalisation of agricultural land. Its widespread support came mainly from working people, craftsmen, small manufacturers, peasant farmers and radical intellectuals and artists.  Since it advocated complete separation of Church and State its membership included both Protestant and Catholic. In Drogheda they included some of the brightest and the best of the population and the fact that many of them had to leave after 1867 was a great loss to the life of the town.

Following the abortive 1867 Fenian Rising many of the Drogheda Fenians had to flee the country and subsequently many of them played prominent roles in the lives of their adopted countries – mainly the U.S.A, Canada, Australia and Britain. Over the years descendants of these exiles have contacted the Drogheda Museum as they trace their genealogies and we have been able to piece together the dramatic stories of their ancestors.   We are inviting the descendants of the Drogheda Fenians, their extended families and friends and indeed, anybody who is interested, to a series of events in Drogheda from Thurs 4th to Sunday the 14th of July 2013.

PROGRAMME

Thurs July 4^th – 6.30pm – Drogheda Museum Millmount – Launch of new exhibition

WHO WERE THE DROGHEDA FENIANS?

– a social history of the Drogheda Fenians and their times.

Sun July 7^th – 3pm – THE COL. LEONARD BANNER TRAIL – Monknewtown Cemetery – poetry, music and banners – assemble car park of Tourists Rest Pub, Rossin, on the main Drogheda to Slane Road (“Dolly Mitchell’s”). Descendants of Col. Leonard and William Reynolds present.

      - 4.30pm – Music, Dance and Banners in Tourists’ Rest Music Room –

        Including celebration of the Drogheda Banners and artist William Reynolds

               

Col. Patrick Leonard from Tullyallen was a major Fenian leader on both sides of the Atlantic and after his death in 1873 an annual commemoration attracted crowds of many thousands from all over Ireland and Britain to his memorial in Monknewtown cemetery. The Col. Leonard Fife and Drum Band was set up in his memory and this later became the Drogheda Brass and Reed Band. His cousin, the artist William Reynolds painted the famous Drogheda banners and designed the memorial.

Mon July 8th - 1pm – The Tholsel Lunchtime Presentations –

IN THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP

 JOHN BOYLE O’REILLY, CANOEIST AND SPORTS ENTHUSIAST –

Introduction to the week by Seán Corcoran, Chairperson Old Drogheda Society and a Director of Drogheda Museum – contributions from Claidhbh Ó Gibne, Boyne Currach supremo; also Silver Bridge Kayak Club and Drogheda Boxing Club.

John Boyle O’Reilly was not only a radical intellectual and poet; he was also an international figure in the history of the social development of sport, particularly canoeing and boxing. His accounts of canoeing trips, especially his expedition to the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia, are regarded as classics.

 

Tues July 9^th  - 1pm – The Tholsel Lunchtime Presentations -

John Boyle O'Reilly on the Delaware River

 THE FENIANS AND PHOTOGRAPHY - speaker Liam Kelly author of Photographs and Photography in Irish Local History (2008) including contribution from Drogheda Photographic Club using period equipment

Tues July 9^th - 7pm - FENIAN TOWN WALK with community historian BRENDAN MATTHEWS: assemble outside Westcourt Hotel, Drogheda– 1 hour duration

Wed July 10^th - 1pm – The Tholsel Lunchtime Presentations –

- OFFICIAL WELCOME BY MAYOR OF DROGHEDA -

Professor JULIANA FLINN, great-grand-daughter of THOMAS FLINN, millwright, of Duke Street, who was one of the leaders of the Drogheda Fenians in 1867, tells of his adventures after he fled from Drogheda and became a prominent engineer and inventor in the USA.

Wed July 10^th - 8pm – Governor’s House, Millmount – Old Drogheda Society Lecture –

NEW LIGHT ON THE DROGHEDA FENIANS by BRENDAN MATTHEWS community historian

Thurs July 11^th - 1pm – The Tholsel Lunchtime Presentations – THE RADICAL POLITICAL THOUGHT OF JOHN BOYLE O’REILLY - by Ian Kenneally author of From the Earth a Cry the definitive biography of Boyle O’Reilly.

Fri July 12^th - 1pm          – The Tholsel Lunchtime Presentations –

ARTISTS’ DEPICTION OF IRISH NEWS IN THE ILLUSTRATED PRESS OF THE 19^th CENTURY

 – by PETER MURRAY, leading international art historian and Director of the Crawford Gallery, Cork.

Sat July 13^th – 9.30am to 5pm – Tholsel - “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?” DAY

– Genealogy advice day – come along and learn how to trace your ancestry at Old Drogheda Society Genealogy Desk. Also present David Snook of IrishMariners.com – if your ancestor was a mariner David can trace him!

THE GATHERING FESTIVAL PARTY

Sun July 14^th – 2pm to 5pm – Millmount Cultural Quarter

– Fun filled day for all the family with music, song and dance; cannons firing, re-enactors, crafts, foods, traditional games and Museum and Tower free admission.

In Concert :- Réalta – award winning trad group from Belfast

Huey and the Hobgoblins – charting band with star 10 piece line-up

Drogheda Orchestral Collective – Watery Hill Boys - And many more.

         

Drogheda Museum 041 9833097 www.droghedamuseum.ie