Archbishop to launch major book on history of Westmeath
On Thursday of this week, March 24, a major work on the history of Westmeath from pre-historic times up to the present day will be launched by the Archbishop of Dublin, Westmeath native Dr Dermot Farrell, in the Atrium of Westmeath’s County Buildings in Mullingar at 6.30pm.
This work has been in progress for almost a decade and contains contributions by historians from all parts of the county and elsewhere. Called ‘Westmeath: history and society - interdisciplinary essays on the history of an Irish county’, the Westmeath volume is part of a series of county histories commenced by Professor Willie Nolan and his publishing company, Geography Publications, when he published on his native county Tipperary in 1985.
The Westmeath volume is substantial, running to around 900 pages and comprising some 35 chapters contributed by historians and researchers from the county and from universities in Ireland and further afield.
These essays embrace a multiplicity of disciplines including geology, archaeology, folklore, cartography, historiography, literature and art history, which explore the evolution of this midland county from pre-history to present times. All angles are covered; there are also substantial contributions on political, military, social, oral, religious, sporting and cultural history, as well as an essay focusing on archives in Westmeath.
The success of the series has been largely based on this ‘interdisciplinary’ approach as well as the successful integration of the contributions from a range of disciplines and ‘Westmeath: history and society’ follows this well-established format.
This volume builds on the scholarship of Westmeath historians such as Fr Paul Walsh, Jeremiah Sheehan, Leo Daly, Marian Keaney and Billy English. Despite the significant contributions of these and other historians, no comprehensive monograph on the history of the county was forthcoming. This is unsurprising, as no single scholar could be expected to have the all-round expertise in the various disciplines to produce a work of the scope and scale of ‘Westmeath: history and society’, which will now become the standard reference work on the history of the county for many years to come.
Edited by historian Seamus O’Brien, ‘Westmeath: history and society’ has been supported by Westmeath County Council, Westmeath Archaeological and Historical Society and the Old Athlone Society. All are welcome to next Thursday night’s launch.