Big issues tackled at South Kilkenny Historical event

The South Kilkenny Historical Society conference, held last Saturday in the Rhu Glenn Hotel, heard from a range of speakers covering topics from climate change to the Decade of Centenaries.

The event was officially opened by the Vice-Chair of the Expert Advisory group on Centenary Commemorations, Dr Martin Mansergh.

In his introduction, the society chairman praised the work of Dr Mansergh in pursuing peace on the whole island of Ireland, something that was not present for most of the 100 years plus since the 26 counties gained independence. He went on to say that his contribution was reflected by the many awards and accolades that Martin had received since the signing of The Good Friday Agreement, in 1998.

Joe Freyne and Eoin Walsh at the South Kilkenny Historical Society Decade of Centenaries conference, held at the Rhu Glenn Hotel

Dr Mansergh gave a brief outline of how the group came into existence. He recalled how the then Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, had first mooted the idea and recalled the government’s vision for the centenary decade.
Dr Mansergh went on to explain how Enda Kenny, who was elected Taoiseach in 2011, ran with the idea .

Reflections
A panel of three historians – Cecelia Hartsell, Martin Mansergh and Eoin Walsh — made presentations on their experiences and views of the Decade of Centenaries.

Cecelia, a US historian, who took part in many of the events organised to mark the Decade of Centenaries praised the work and appropriateness of the commemorative events which she took part in and contrasted it with the similar events in the US.

She also said that she was in the advantageous position of assessing the events as an person who had only came to Ireland at the start of the commemorations and therefore without any political bias.

Eoin Walsh praised the work of local organisations, such as the South Kilkenny Historical Society, for the events which were organised including the 2016 conference organised by the society, the commemorations at Sinnott’s Cross and events to mark the Coolbawn Ambush.

He went on to say that he was surprised, on occasions, when descendants of those who took part in events such as the War of Independence were unaware of the level of involvement of their family members.

Martin Mansergh detailed many of the events which were held and outlined the many positive developments which resulted from commemorating the Decade of Centenaries, including the digitising of records and making them accessible to the general public. He went on to say that while there were a small few mistakes made, in general the commemorations were positive and gave us a greater understanding of a most important period in Irish history.

He was also of the opinion that the advisory group achieved the objectives of inclusivity and accounted for the diversity of our shared history.

The panelists for the second discussion were Professor Thorne, of Maynooth University and Mr Paul O’Brien, chair of the IFA Environmental and Rural Affairs committee.

Peter Thorne began by outlining the history of global warming, greenhouse gases and climate change. He then went out to outline the effects of rising temperatures on an ever increasing global population.

Professor Thorne told the audience that failure to act now would result in serious issues such as food insecurity and reverberate for centuries into the future.

Paul O’Brien outlined the challenges facing the agriculture industry, how farming methods are changing to ensure a sustainable agriculture industry and the willingness of the industry to continue making strides. He also explained that it was not only agriculture that was to blame and continued that everybody had a role to play to ensure that food production can continue at a sustainable rate.

At the conclusion of the event, the chairman thanked those who helped organise the event, including all the society’s committee, the media for publicising society events, the Rhu Glenn Hotel and those who attended on the day.

Night of Reminiscing
The next South Kilkenny Historical Society event will take place on Friday next, December 8, with A Night of Reminiscing, at the Rhu Glenn Hotel, Slieverue.

The cost, which includes food is €25. Anybody interested in this event should contact either Brigid Barron (brigidbarron@hotmail.com), Katherine Grant (katherinegrant@gmail.com) or Mary Ryan (maryearyan@gmail.com).