Skehana and Di stri ct Heri tage Group Newsletter

Issue No. 3. Summer 2014

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Skehana and District
Heritage Group
Summer2014
A Message from the Chairperson
Welcome to our Summer Newsletter. In our last publication, we
told you that we were embarking on a series of talks/lectures
covering subjects of interest to the local and wider community.
In co-operation with Moylough Heritage & Historical Society,
the first of these was held in Skehana Community Centre in
December, the subject matter being Michael Davitt and the
Land League, presented by Mr. Bernard O`Hara. This was
followed by a wonderful presentation by Dr J oseph Mannion on
the History of Moylough in Moylough Community Centre.
More recently, our own J immy Laffey gave a splendid
presentation on the history of the townland of Ballinaruane in
Screene`s, Guilka where 100 people attended. In the meantime, Mountbellew hosted a talk
on the great war where Patsy Laffey of Windfield Road, displayed among other
memorabilia a very well preserved uniform worn by his grand-uncle who fought in the war.
On J une 19
th
Michael Conneely, who graduated from NUI Galway with a degree in
Archaeology & Ancient Classics, presented a public lecture entitled An introduction to the
Archaelogical & Historical Monuments of Skehana & Menlough at Skehana Community
Centre. During his presentation Michael explored the rich and diverse archaeological and
historical monuments in the Menlough/Skehana area, from burials that date to the early
Neolithic period (4000-3500 bc) right up to the demise of monumental estates of the landed
gentry in the early 20th century. It has been encouraging to see large attendances at these
events and we look forward to organising further presentations/lectures in the near future
The surveying of Childrens Burial Grounds in the locality is ongoing. Mr Declan Kelly, a
specialist in this field, visited 5 sites in the area and is hoping to carry out further
examination of the J ameson site later in the year. We hope to consult with the wider
community in the future in deciding a suitable way of commemorating these sites.
Those of you following us on Facebook will see some wonderful images of various sites
and buildings. Thanks to Tom Costello we were able to scan and add some wonderful old
documents relating to Costello Pub dating back to the 1800s.
Currently our members are attending two courses: 'How to read the landscape' (The
Heritage Dept., Galway Co. Co.) and another based on the creation of a website linked to
the National Museum.
In conclusion, I would like to thank Moylough Historical & Heritage Society and fellow
members for their hard work and cooperation over the year. ~ Sean Conneely (Chairperson)
www.skehanaheritage.com
Buoyed by the success of the projects and lectures organised by our group since its
inception, we recently decided to create a Skehana & District Heritage website to
complement our very successful Facebook page. We felt that a website would give us an
opportunity to record for posterity and research purposes, the history, landscape, archeology,
oral history and documentation of our area. We are also mindful that history and heritage is
being created every day - yesterdays stories and events are part of our heritage ongoing.
With all of this in mind, and with the help and assistance of Marie Mannion (Heritage
Officer Galway County Council), Lorna Elms (Museum of Country Life Castlebar), David
Collins, Oughterard Heritage Group and The Irish Community Archive Network, we have
been chosen as one of a selection of other Galway Heritage groups who will design their
own sites under a multi-site format, to be hosted at www.galwaycommunityheritage.org.
Each group's own website will be hosted within this larger multi-site. Currently the multi-
site is being designed and funding has been made available to cover the cost of putting the
whole process together. We appreciate the work of Marie Mannion in getting this funding for
all the groups selected, particularly in current times when public finances are scarce.
Since early April, I have been attending a training program to build, maintain and
moderate our website when the mainframe website is designed and put in place. Our own
domain will be www.skehanaheritage.com and will be an interactive space for people to
submit stories, old photographs, sound bytes, etc when it becomes live.
While we are in the current process of training, building and getting the website up
and running, I would like to collect some material in order to be able to go live as early as
possible. We envisage the site will consist of sections covering topics such as local
townlands, people of note in the life of the area (past and present), old photographs, local
monuments and archeology, old customs, local music and past musicians, oral history,
obituaries, old documents, local business and industry both past and present, a section for
you to upload your own material (which will be moderated), a message board, emigration
database, links with other such communities and websites, current events, and much more.
It is an ambitious project, but with time, material and effort, it will become a project
to be proud of. Should you have stories or photographs, in particular of people and families
who no longer reside here but whose memory and existence in the area should be marked,
please do send them to me and I will include as much as possible when the time comes. You
can also write your own articles and email to gerry@gerrycostello.com or drop them into
me. I can scan materials that you need returned to you without any damage or loss to the
originals. If you have video footage on VHS tapes, I can also convert it to web format, again
without any loss of your own footage.
Mindful that history is being made every day, and that by recording todays events,
we build a valuable heritage that future generations can access/research. Contemporaneous
recording will also reduce inaccuracies, all too often caused by verbal retelling. The success
of the site depends on us as a community making it happen, with material we can formulate
into a valuable source of information about our area and heritage. ~Gerry Costello
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Heritage Week 2014
The Mannion Clan of County Galway: Warriors, Chieftains, Kings
As part of our contribution to
Heritage Week 2014, we will
be facilitating a presentation
and lecture by Dr J oe Mannion,
entitled The Mannion Clan of
County Galway:Warriors,
Chieftains, Kings. The
O'Mainnin or Mannion Clan
were ancient chieftains of the
territory of Soghain and they
resided at Clogher, now known as Killaclogher, until 1352 when O'Kelly took
possession of that stronghold. The castle, of which remains are still evident today as
you descend Mullagh Hill, was built sometime shortly after this displacement.
Following the hanging of their chief, his successor settled in Menlough where
they had a castle and bawne. Lightning would later destroy Menlough Castle and only
a portion of one wall now remains.
The intriguing but little-known history of one of Irelands oldest families will be
charted during the course of this talk. Using medieval Gaelic sources such as annals,
genealogies, church records, bardic poetry and prose, a clear picture emerges of the
early Celtic roots of the Mainnns, and of their customary role as warrior kings and
chieftains over the extensive territories of the Sogain people of East Galway.
In spite of their noted military prowess, however, a gradual contraction of their
power and possessions is evident throughout the Middle Ages, and the English state
papers of the Tudor and Stuart eras reveal the deteriorating situation in which they
found themselves at the end of the Gaelic era. Confiscation and dislocation were then
the order of the day, and the subsequent dispersal of the Mainnn clan can be traced
in official documentation of the modern period.
Measures to perpetuate the history and heritage of this important East Galway
family are currently under consideration and discussions are currently place with local
community and voluntary groups in Menlough and Skehana to assess the best methods
and approaches to achieve this.
We are privileged indeed that J oe Mannion will be delivering this lecture as his is
the foremost authority on his chosen subject. J oe, himself a retired Principal Teacher,
holds a PhD in history from NUI Galway and he has studied and written extensively on
the history of numerous areas and subjects in Galway. While he was born in Ryehill,
his ancestors are firmly rooted in this locality as his grandmother was a Mellody from
Gilkagh and his grandfather a Mannion from Clooncurreen. The lecture will be held on
Friday August 29
th
at 9pm in Menlough Community Centre.
To view other events taking place as part of Heritage Week 2014, in Galway and
throughout Ireland, log onto http://www.heritageweek.ie or pick up a copy of the
National or County booklets from libraries and other civic centres throughout the
country. This years theme is Family...Generations exploring heritage together and it
is hoped that families, young and old, will be encouraged to get out and connect with
the heritage that is ingrained in us all. ~Jimmy Laffey (PRO)
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This bottle is likely to date to the late 1800's and is
unusual with its art nouveau, double globe/gourd design.
The gourd shape had a purpose, the top section was used
for Tartaric Acid and Bicarbonate of soda (which reacted
to create Carbon Dioxide), while the bottom section was
used for water or other substances which needed to be
made sparkling. The resultant gas would then force the
water up through the glass tube attached to the nozzle.
Many of these bottles originated in France, though this
example has an English inscription which may indicate a
slightly later date. It is quite large, with a height of
c.50cm, and weighs c.6kg. The base diameter is
aproximately 25cm, while the diameter of the lower
globe is c.30cm and the upper globe is c.20cm. The body
of the bottle is fitted with metal netting and has a pewter
spout, which bears the inscribed hallmark of the
manufacturer (British Syphon Manufacturing Company, London England). The metal
netting was fitted to prevent glass from dispersing in case of an explosion which
occasionally happened with such bottles. The base of the syphon has a large polished pontil.
Thanks to Tom and Fergal Costello for allowing us to share this wonderful image.
~ Michael Conneely (treasurer)
Monivea Castle A Painting by Wini Hardiman
This watercolour painting of
Monivea Castle in its glory
days was painted by Wini
Hardiman, nee Coppinger of
Currandoo (1886 - 1967).
Wini would have walked past
the Castle on her way to
Monivea school. She painted
many pictures of the castle,
hunt scenes, Gurteen Church
etc. This was a wedding
present to her son Peter (1916
- 1983) when he married
Nonie Keary in 1953 and
moved to Doonane.
Thanks to Marian Hardiman (Secretary) for sharing this beautiful painting with us.
Contact Details
Sean Conneely (Chairperson): (086) 8255901
J immy Laffey (PRO): (085) 2187544
Skehana and District Heritage Group aims to examine and explore
social, cultural and historical aspects of the local hinterland and to
facilitate the sharing of this information with the wider community
Email:
skehanaheritage@gmail.com
Compiled by Michael Conneely
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