Killererin Heritage Society
2015 - 2017
Eileen O'Connell
Present Committee: Chairperson: Bernadette Forde, Secretary; Eileen O’Connell, Treasurer; Seamus Morrissey, Mary Dunleavy, Dom Dunleavy, Brendan O’Boyle and John Coyle
The Heritage Society is now in its eighth year and continues to promote an awareness and appreciation of all aspects of the built, natural and cultural heritage of our parish.
2015
2015 was spent finalising the research of almost every aspect of the history of Killererin, culminating in the publication of Killererin –A Parish History in December. Our book was launched on December 18th by An Cathaoirleach and Mayor of Co. Galway, Peter Roche. By now there should be at least one copy in every home. It would be a welcome gift for anyone who ever lived in Killererin. A Paypal account was set up for us by Micheál Keane which enables people at home or abroad to purchase a copy online at: www.killererin.galwaycommunityheritage.org . A recent copy of our book reached New Zealand in just eight days, so delivery is swift. Sales are steady and along with the very generous sponsorship received for the launch, our costs are almost covered.
Launch of Website
Our website www.killererin.galwaycommunityheritage.org was officially launched on May 16th 2015 at a special function in Moylough . We are now part of a heritage network and are liaising with almost 10 other groups sharing information and expertise. The network is known as ICAN (Irish Community Archive Network) and is spearheaded by Lorna Elms, Educator at the National Museum of Country Life, Castlebar ably assisted by Marie Mannion, Heritage officer, Galway Co. Council.
Mystery Historical tour of the Parish
We continue to showcase our cultural heritage by organising different events and on Culture evening September 19th 2015, twenty five people toured some of the historical sites in the parish. We visited Galway Glamping, Ballyglunin, situated in what was once part of the Blake Estate; Ballyglunin Railway Station, where scenes from the film, The Quiet Man, were filmed; Barbersfort House, an Estate house once home to the Ruttledge family that retains its cobbled courtyard and surrounding sheds, now owned by Dom and Mary Dunleavy. We also visited O’Briens of Hillsbrook, once part of the Hillsbrook Estate and home to John Andrew Kirwarn and family; the Church of Ireland ruins in Lissavalley and viewed the Golden Mile in Killererin. This was followed by refreshments in the community centre. We thank all the owners of these properties for taking time out of their busy schedules to give us a guided tour of their premises.
Retirements
At our AGM in April, Geraldine O’Connor, Sylvester Cassidy and John Tighe retired from the committee. They were thanked for their valuable contribution to the heritage society over the years.
Volunteer of the year Nominee
At this meeting also Bernadette Forde was acknowledged for her commitment to the research and publishing of the parish history. She was shortlisted for An Cathaoirleach’s Community Award 2015 in the category Volunteer of the Year Award for outstanding work in this area.
Contribution of Moylough parish Services CE Scheme
Moylough Parish Services and the members of the C.E scheme in particular Rosaleen Molloy who works in the Parish office in the Community Centre were a great he;[p to us in all aspects of our work from research and typing etc.assisting us in organising events etc. No job was too big or too small.
Easter Sunday
On Easter Sunday a special ceremony organised by the society and conducted by Fr. Jarlath Heraty took place in the church grounds to commemorate all those who died in 1916. The proclamation was read and a tree was planted. We also published a booklet on the Military History of Killererin 1916.
John O’Connell assisted by Patrick Stone planting the Silver Birch in the Church grounds
Tour of some 1916 sites in Dublin
On May 21st, forty five people travelled to Dublin where we visited th e 1916 sites of the G.P.O, Collins Barracks and the Garden of Remembrance. This ignited interest in those that travelled for further tours and we will be continuing these tours in the future.
After viewing the Asgard before visiting the main exhibition in Collins Barracks – Proclaiming a Republic – the 1916 Rising
Culture Night 2016
This year, we celebrated Culture night on September 16th with Stations and Hooley at the Crossroads. This was a joint venture spearheaded by Killererin Community Council and facilitated by the Heritage Society who applied for a grant on behalf of the group to fund this event. However, it could not have happened without input from several organisations and individuals in the parish and members of the CE scheme all working in co-operation with one another. The even
t was an outstanding success and a night to remember, thanks to all the participants.
Digital Mapping of graveyards
Work continues on the digital mapping of the three cemeteries in Killererin and we are also looking at the possibility of planning another Golden Mile.
New members are very welcome to join our small but very c
ommitted Heritage Society. Contact any committee member for further information or email:killererinheritage3@gmail.com
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