|
Papers: List of Papers 2002-09 |
|
|
AGM Report |
|
Skerries Historical Society held its AGM in Keane's Bus Bar on Tuesday 9th October. At a well-attended meeting we heard from out-going Chairman, Brian O'Byrne, that the society is continuing to thrive. The talks this year have covered a wide range of topics such as archaeology, including Paul Mulligan's fascinating overview of our local area 'From Megalithic Tombs to Martello Towers' and Niall Roycroft's 'Living on the Edge', both of which tied in very well with the highly successful bus tour organised by John Harte, with contributions from both Niall and Paul. John will review the tour at the March meeting. Transport was another theme with Michael Corcoran giving a very enjoyable account of 'Road Transport, 100 Years Ago' and John Redmond explaining 'The Establishment and Development of Steam Railways in North County Dublin'. Marie Synnott's 'Stained Glass of Skerries' referred to history and the present day as many examples of stained and painted glass are still to be seen in Skerries Churches. Gerry Besseling's 'Life' was a truly sparkling evening 'straight from the horse's mouth'! Forthcoming talks also include some biographical studies with accounts of the lives of Marian Owens and Jimmy O'Dea. Our coastal heritage will be examined in 'Coastguards in Fingal' and 'The Wreck of the Sailing Barque, The Bell Hill' while a study of Skerries pubs and publicans is sure to be of interest to all! Time and Tide 5 as well as previous titles continue to sell well at the SHS meetings, and at Skerries Mills, Ardgillan and local shops. |
After three years of dedicated leadership as Chairman, Brian O'Byrne has stepped down to be replaced by Stephanie Bourke for the 07/08 year which is also the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Skerries Historical Society. Rosalie Pickering remains Hon. Sec., Eric Embleton as Hon. Treasurer, Joe Murray as Hon. Archivist, Maree Baker as Hon. Librarian and Pauline Hanlon as P.R.O. Brian O'Byrne will remain on the committee with Muriel Gogarty, John Harte, Roderick Neary, Carmel Power, Oona Roycroft and Marie Synnott. The committee are looking for ideas to celebrate the 60th anniversary: possibly with an exhibition of objects and photographs from the archive and a one-off publication. Unfortunately Joe Clinton was unable to be present to read from his book about the Clinton family history, 'Life is a Game of Cricket'. In his absence members of the committee read from Joe's earlier work held in the archive: 'John Fox: No Ordinary Man'. We started with a short piece on the background of the Fox family and then heard excerpts from John Fox's journal kept on the 38 day sea voyage from Liverpool, England to Auckland, New Zealand. John Fox is, of course, known for his poetry and some of his poems reflecting themes raised in the journal were read by Marie Synnott, herself a poet. The poems were 'Heading for the Mail Boat' describing the hardship of the 1950s which forced many people to emigrate. 'Barnageeragh Strand' gave a window onto the thoughts of a homesick exile but Marie finished with a comic tribute to our hosts in the form of 'The Bus Bar Ghost'.
|