Professor Willie Nolan, series editor, and (right), the cover of the forthcoming Westmeath: History and Society volume. The cover features a painting by the Scottish artist, Erskine Nicol, depicting a fishing scene on the banks of Lough Derravaragh during the 19th century.

Pre-launch lecture on Westmeath: History and Society

This Wednesday night, Westmeath Archaeological and Historical Society will host a lecture on a forthcoming publication which will make an important contribution to the historiography of County Westmeath.

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The publication, Westmeath: History and Society, is part of a series of county histories started by Professor Willie Nolan in 1985, when he published on his native county Tipperary.

Geography Publications, subsequently set up by Willie, continued this process for several other counties over the following years. Twenty-eight counties are now available, and Westmeath will be the latest in this prestigious and highly regarded publication series.

Westmeath: History and Society is edited by Mullingar historian and former teacher Seamus O’Brien, and contains 35 essays by eminent historians from the county and academics from universities across the country. Launches will take place early in 2022 in both Mullingar and Athlone.

This Wednesday night, Professor Nolan will give a pre-launch review of the Westmeath volume, as well as reflecting on the rationale for the county series since the initial publication in the mid 1980s.

The Westmeath publication has been supported by Westmeath County Council, Creative Ireland, Westmeath Archaeological and Historical Society and the Old Athlone Society.

The lecture will be online this Wednesday December 15 at 8pm on the Zoom platform. Details of the link will be on the society’s website, www.whahs.ie, or can be obtained by emailing obriains@gmail.com.

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