Wordsworth betjeman and mullingar ruth the historian has all the secrets
William Wordsworth had a picnic on the shores of Lough Owel; Sir John Betjeman dropped in to the Westmeath Examiner and had printed 150 copies of a pamphlet containing his poem ‘Sir John Piers’; Evelyn Waugh came to Tullynally to have his broken heart soothed after the ending of his marriage.
We could go on – but that would be to further plunder the rich hoard of stories that historian Ruth Illingworth intends sharing with participants on her Literary Tour of Mullingar, taking place at 7pm today, Friday September 19 – Culture Night.
It is the second of two tours that Ruth is hosting that day, the first at 4pm, and focusing on the cathedral.
“The cathedral tour will last around 50 minutes or so,” says Ruth, whose knowledge of every aspect of Mullingar’s history is, in one word, phenomenal.
This particular tour doesn’t take in the cathedral museum, but will instead shine a light on the cathedral itself, which, as most people are aware, celebrated its 75th anniversary this month. The tour will also examine the cathedral art works, such as the famed mosaics by the legendary Russian artist, Boris Anrep.
The meeting point for this tour is at the main entrance to the cathedral, at 4pm.
Literary tour
The literary waking tour of Mullingar will start at the Market House at 7pm, and will take participants around the town, pointing out places that have literary associations.
And, reveals Ruth, there are several great names from the world of literature who have been associated with Mullingar – not least, James Joyce, and, of course, the author of The Gingerman, JP Donleavy, who lives in this area.
Other names that will come up for mention include Sir Harold Pinter, Christopher Nolan, Michael Harding, Dermot Healy, the O’Coffey and O’Dalaigh bards, and Jonathan Swift.
But the stories aren’t ours to tell – so take Ruth’s tour and you will find yourself with a lot of great tales – and a long list of names to add to your “Must Read” list.
Both tours are free of charge.