Fingal Heritage Network Brochure 2010 - Fingal County Council

SPRING 2010
Heritage
Network
FINGAL HERITAGE NETWORK • COMHAR UM OIDREACHTA FHINE GALL • Fingal

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The Fingal region derives its name from the Gaelic words ‘Fine
Gall’ which equate with ‘land of the stranger’, a reference to the
Vikings, who settled here in the 8th Century. But they were just one
in a list of invaders before and since who have left their mark,
alongside that of the native Irish.
Fingal boasts a rich cultural, built and natural heritage. The
societies in this booklet are dedicated to preserving and promoting
an awareness of this legacy.
Fingal Heritage Network welcomes new members. Groups
interested in being included in future editions of this brochure
should contact: heritage@fingalcoco.ie
“People will not
look forward to
posterity, who never
look backward to
their ancestors”
Edmund Burke
Tower Bay, Portrane

Balbriggan & District
Historical Society
ORIGIN AND AIMS
Formed in 1981, our goal is to promote an interest in the
local history of Balbriggan & District through lectures,
publications and exhibitions; to research and record the
history of Balbriggan; to educate the youth of the town
in their own heritage and to establish a museum in the
Balbriggan District.
ACTIVITIES.
Members enjoy a monthly presentation for three evenings
in the spring, a summer break - during which we hold our
annual outing - and four evenings in the autumn including
a presentation during Heritage Week. The presentations are
on issues of local historical interest, The Coastguard Service,
Local Maps etc., etc. The public is most welcome to attend.
We are also the sponsors of a FAS project for the restoration
of Bremore Castle to the north of the town.
PUBLICATIONS.
We have a number of
publications; History
of SS Peter & Paul’s
Church by Jim Walsh;
The Hamilton Family
& The Making of
Balbriggan by
Stephanie Bourke;
Balbriggan: A History
for the Millennium — Balbriggan fishing fleet and lighthouse
A history of events
and organisations in the town; The Street Where You Live -
an index of streets, their residents and their history and The
1875 Sale Catalogue of the Hamilton Estate and ‘The Farm
Diary of Lowther Lodge 1803-1822 – Townley Patton
Filgate’, edited by Elizabeth Balcombe.
MEMBERSHIP
The Society welcomes new members.
CONTACTS
Information about the Society and contacts may be had at
www.balbrigganhistory.net.
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Cloghran Historical Society
(Cumann Stairiuil Chlochrain)
ORIGIN AND AIMS
Cloghran Historical Society was formed in 2002 by a group
of people with a common aim – that is “to enjoy, record,
conserve, restore and celebrate the distinctive qualities of
Cloghran and surrounding townlands, their local Heritage,
their Community and their Environment”. The Society
meets monthly. We are fortunate to have such fantastic
support from the local community and businesses, who give
so much of their time voluntarily to all the projects in which
we are involved, such as the restoration of Cloghran
Graveyard which is situated beside the Coachman’s inn on
the Old Airport Road. To date over €100,000 has been
spent on the restoration. This was raised mainly though local
fundraising and grant aid from the Heritage Council and
Fingal County Council. We hope to open the graveyard to
the public when the restoration is complete. We are always
looking for old photographs and stories of bygone years in
Cloghran relating to places such as Cloghran School,
Cloghran Stud, Corballis House, Castlemoate House and, of
course, Cloghran Church and Graveyard, not forgetting
Dublin Airport.
CONTACT
Eamon Reilly, Secretary, Tel. 087 2565836
Geraldine McGovern P.R.O., Tel. 086 1734342
Post: C/o Coachman’s Inn, Cloghran, Co. Dublin
Email: history@cloghranhistory.com
Cloghran Cemetery

Donabate Historical Society
ORIGIN AND AIMS
Donabate Historical Society was first established in 1948 but
became inactive in 1955 and then re-activated in 1972.
The aims of the Society are the collection of information in the
parish as to customs, stories and incidents of ancient, medieval
and modern times, and to complete the written and unwritten
history of the area.
A programme of talks on local history is organized during the
autumn, winter and spring with papers presented by both local
and outside speakers. Talks are also given in the local schools
and historical walks conducted during the summer months.
Local school children are frequent visitors to the local history
museum which is opened on request. We have a number of
publications, all written by Peadar Bates: ‘Donabate and
Portrane – A History’; ‘The 1798 Rebellion in Fingal’; ‘The
History of St. Patrick’s Church, Donabate’ ; and ‘The Life of
Charles Cobbe’. In recent years Peadar has catalogued the
Cobbe and Hely-Hutchinson papers.
Whilst our main support comes from long time residents, we
endeavor to offer the many newcomers to the peninsula
opportunities to learn about the history of their newly adopted
place. New members
are very welcome.
CONTACT: Peadar Bates
Rahillion, Donabate
Telephone: 01 8436091
Email: peadarb1@yahoo.ie
Newbridge House

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The Dublin Naturalists’
Field Club
ORIGIN AND AIMS
Founded in January 1886, The Dublin Naturalists’ Field
Club has been catering to the needs of people involved in
the study of the natural heritage of Fingal and the adjacent
area for 120 years.
Today DNFC’s membership includes both amateur and
professional naturalists of all levels of expertise and from all
backgrounds and walks of life.
The club offers a
programme of outdoor
meetings and walks
throughout the year, held
in places of natural history
interest, mainly in the
greater Dublin area. We
also organise indoor talks
and presentations. We
Ward River
conduct training events for
our members and others,
especially for the young people who will become tomorrow’s
expert naturalists.
Our main aims are to promote the study, awareness and
conservation of the natural heritage through our indoor and
outdoor events programme, and through more intensive
activities such as specialist surveys of the flora and fauna of
particular areas, or of particular groups of plants and animals.
We are currently (2007) embarking on a project recording
the flora of Howth and Ireland’s Eye. In 1984 we published
a Flora of Dublin’s Inner City and more recently The Flora
of County Dublin, a source of information constantly
referred to in planning and conservation discussions and
hearings in all parts of the county.
We are consulted by local and national authorities and their
agents on issues of mutual concern, and take part in many
activities that promote interest in our natural heritage.
CONTACT
Web sites: www.dnfc.net
www.butterflyireland.com

Howth Peninsula Heritage Society
Cumann Oidhreachta Leithinis Bhinn Éadair
ORIGIN AND AIMS
Howth Peninsula Heritage Society is an organisation actively
working to promote an awareness of and an interest in all
aspects of our heritage – our history, literature, folk life,
landscape, etc.
The Society was formed following a public meeting in 1995
sponsored by the Howth/Sutton Lions Club and Fingal
County Council. This arose from their joint participation in
the successful renovation of the Martello Tower overlooking
Howth Harbour which was seen to have potential for use as
a heritage and cultural centre. At present a magnificent
display of vintage radio apparatus collected over a lifetime by
Pat Herbert is exhibited and demonstrated by him to the
visitor.
The main aim of the
Heritage Society is to
research and document
the history of Howth
and its environs and
disseminate this
information among the
people who live here
through lectures and
walks. The Society also
aims to preserve the
unique historical
qualities of the Howth
Peninsula which may be
in danger of being lost.
Howth Harbour
Local and visiting speakers present approximately nine talks
each year on a wide spectrum of historical topics. These are
open to the general public. One-off events and
commemorations are organised as the occasion arises.
MEMBERSHIP
New members are very welcome. The annual subscription
includes free access to public meetings organised by the
Society.
CONTACTS
Dermot Quinn, dermotquinn@eircom.net
Diarmuid ÓCathasaigh, daocathasaigh@eircom.net
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Fingal Heri
LOCATION OF
ORGANISATIONS
MENTIONED IN
THIS BROCHURE

age Network
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Fingal
Heritage
Network
BACKGROUND
The Fingal Heritage Network is an initiative of the Fingal
Heritage Plan 2005 - 2010. The network provides a
coherent and inclusive voice for heritage groups in
Fingal.
It seeks to influence all organisations that operate in
Fingal, to ensure they develop coherent plans & policies
that promote the best interests of heritage in the county.
FINGAL HERITAGE NETWORK • COMHAR UM OIDREACHTA FHINE GALL •
Members of Fingal
the launch of Photog
Fingal County Hall,

AIMS
The Network’s aims are to develop an active network of
heritage groups in the county in order to advance their
common interests by working together, and to ensure
that each group can sustain itself into the future with an
active membership and programme. The Network also
promotes its work, and that of the participating heritage
groups, by facilitating the pooling and dissemination of
information, on events, projects and the availability of
resources.
The Network also aims to encourage participation from
Network members to allow them to learn from each
other’s experience, and to build a sense of unity among
members and groups. The Network aims to represent
the collective views of its members and to influence and
inform policy and planning countywide. It also aims to
secure representation for the Network on the boards of
relevant organisations and bodies (County or National).
The Heritage Network is supported by Fingal County
eritage Network at
raphic Exhibition in
Swords, July 2009
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Roger Greene, Ciarán Byrne, Mayor of Fingal
and Christine Baker
Council’s Planning Department and Community,
Recreation & Amenities Department.
Since the publication of the last brochure in 2007, our
member societies, while very active in their respective
areas, came together in July 2009 to launch the
publication ‘Axes, Warriors and Windmills: Recent
archaeological discoveries in North Fingal‘. This
published the proceedings of a one day seminar
organised by the Network in October 2007, which
consisted of six talks presented by archaeologists who
have made recent exciting discoveries in Fingal,
including in Skerries, Lusk, Lambay Island, Swords and
Balbriggan. Also launched at the same event was a
Photographic Exhibition depicting the social life of
Fingal pre 1950. Six societies took part, Cloghran,
Donabate, Lusk, Rush-Loughshinny, Malahide, and
Swords. The exhibition was launched by the Mayor of
Fingal, Ciaran Byrne and it ran in the County Hall in
Swords for two weeks, followed by successful weeks in
Blanchardstown and Malahide Libraries. The Fingal
South-West Heritage Society was also welcomed into the
Network in 2009.
CONTACTS fingalheritagenetwork@gmail.com

Fingal South West
Heritage Society
CUMANN OIDHREACHTA
FHINE GALL THIAR-THEAS
ORIGIN AND AIMS
Our society, Cumann Oidhreachta Fhine Gall Thiar-Theas
or Fingal South-West Heritage Society, is a new society
which was founded only in 2009. We are still growing and
developing, but we have enjoyed a good first few months
with interesting readings and talks on a variety of subjects
concerning local history, folklore and archaeology. We have
also visited a few places of interest in the general locality.
Members meet on Saturdays at 2pm in the Blanchardstown
Library building and newcomers are most welcome. The
yearly membership fee is €10. The society is non-sectarian
and non-political.
THE AIMS OF THE SOCIETY ARE TO:
• Promote and encourage research into the history,
archaeology, architecture, folklore, mythology, flora
and fauna, genealogy and
culture of the Fingal
South-West area.
• To provide a forum for
talks and discussions on all
aspects of the local heritage
• To endeavour to protect
and maintain the local
Castleknock Castle
heritage
• To encourage an awareness of and respect for our local
heritage
• To produce an annual journal covering the activities of
our members and talks
• To visit sites and places of interest to our members
• To encourage our members to participate fully in our
activities
• To support and encourage the practical use of the Irish
language in a bilingual context for the understanding
of all of our members
CONTACTS
Aingeal McMurrow Tel. 086 843 8812
email oidhreacht.info@gmail.com
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Liffey Valley Park Alliance
ORIGIN AND AIMS
The Liffey Valley Park alliance is a federation of some thirty
local and national bodies which are concerned to safeguard
and preserve the amenities of the Liffey Valley.
The Liffey Valley is one of the major natural amenities of the
Greater Dublin Region, having its origins in the Ice Age, and
the present topography and features of the valley relate to this
period. The Liffey Valley stretches from Islandbridge to Clane
in Co. Kildare and resonates with history. The earliest settlers
came up the river Liffey six thousand years ago and there were
Viking settlements at Kilmainham and Leixlip. There are holy
wells, Celtic churches, medieval abbeys and castles along the
length of the valley.
A 2007 government sponsored
study “Towards a Liffey Valley
Park” was undertaken
following representations by
the Alliance and it states “the
historical associations with the
Liffey are of national
River Liffey
significance and the river has
long played a critical role in the
social, economic and cultural life of the country”.
The Liffey Valley provides a major “green lung” for the
burgeoning new towns to the north, south, and west of it i.e.
Clondalkin, Lucan, Blanchardstown, Leixlip, Celbridge and
Maynooth and is used extensively for canoeing, fishing,
football, hurling, golf, rowing and walking. There is untapped
potential to provide access to a large natural and
environmental resource and amenities for these growing
communities and others in the region.
The Liffey Valley Park alliance is engaged in raising awareness
of the Liffey Valley and its many amenities. To this end walks,
visits and lectures are arranged.
CONTACT
Mary Eustace, “Glenshee”, Strawberry Beds, Chapelizod,
Dublin 20. Tel. 01-8213434 email: maryteustace@eircom.net
Joe Byrne, 256 Beech Park, Lucan, Co. Dublin
Tel. 01-6283178/ 087 6152229
Connie Kiernan, 187 Wheatfield Road, Palmerstown,
Dublin 20. Tel. 01-6264736

Loughshinny & Rush
Historical Society
ORIGIN AND AIMS
Loughshinny & Rush Historical Society was inaugurated in
1989. The aims and objectives of our Society are to compile,
research, record and correlate the history, folklore and
traditions of the Loughshinny & Rush area of North Fingal.
Committee meetings are held on the second Thursday of
the month. Talks, mainly on topics of local interest, are
given on the fourth Thursday of the month. The public is
very welcome at these meetings. The Society recesses during
the months of July, August and September. Two outings are
organised during the year, one at Christmas time and the
other in June.
The Society has issued various journals over the years.
Members have completed Local History Diploma Courses
and produced papers of local historical interest. We had
plaques erected at Whitestown and Kenure cemeteries to
commemorate victims who died of cholera in the epidemic
of September/October 1849 and are buried there.
MEMBERSHIP
The annual subscription is €12 per year, which facilitates
family membership. New members are always welcome.
Loughshinny
CONTACT
Honorary Secretary, Margaret McCann Moore, “Don
Bosco”, Harbour Road, Rush. Tel. : 4727025/6712773.
Email: garrettoreilly@eircom.net
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Lusk Heritage Group
ORIGIN AND AIMS
The Lusk Heritage Group was formed in 1989 and has actually
had great fun for twenty years. We thought that heritage is not
exactly history, but what normal people were doing when
National and International events were taking place. Hence
we decided to talk to our own people and to record what they
had to say. Then we decided to mark occasions, such as the
anniversaries of Christianity coming to Lusk, with our
Christianity stone and of the 1916 rebellion with an exhibition.
We have built monuments
relevant to Lusk along with
other groups, e.g. the Lusk
Tidy Towns Associations, such
as the sign of unity and
friendship in the Market
Square, the Raven sculpture
on the Dublin Road
roundabout, and the
Archaeology stone on the
Rathmore Road. The tree we
planted alongside a plaque at
Lusk Round Towers Gaelic
Grounds as a memorial to the great Thomas Ashe, and the yew
tree in Saint Macullin’s churchyard are there to grow tall and
old to mark these places and people when we are long gone.
As well as those items, we did our best to support local efforts
from our own talented people, our own poets and writers.
It has been a joyful and humbling experience to work with our
own people as well as with those who never fail to support us
financially, the local business community and of course Fingal
County Council. The high point for the Group was when we
became part of the “Naming
Committee” for the new
housing developments of
Lusk; we really felt we had
arrived.
CONTACT
Pat Kelly, “Autoview”,
Dublin Road, Lusk, Co.
Dublin. Tel. 01 8437285
Lusk high cross,
tower and church

Malahide Historical Society
ORIGIN AND AIMS
Malahide Historical Society was founded in 1978 when the
population was expanding rapidly, with many of the
newcomers knowing little of the long and extensive history
of their adopted village and its surroundings. Through the
years the Society has gathered and recorded information and
disseminated this through public lectures and the
‘NEWSLETTER’, of which there have been ninety five
issues to date. In addition, members have published books
on specific aspects of local history. A number of
archaeological digs have been organised, yielding large
quantities of Stone Age flint tools and telling us much about
the early settlers in
Malahide. A selection
of these and other
artefacts are on
display in the Society
museum alongside
the Fry Model
Railway Museum and
the Dolls Museum in
the Craft Courtyard
of Malahide Castle.
Looking to the
future, the Society
has been promoting
an interest in local
history among local
Malahide Castle
primary school
children through the medium of an annual history project
competition. Those interested in art history are catered for
with an annual seminar with high profile speakers. This event
is now in its eighteenth year. The Society website
www.malahideheritage.com carries a large and growing
volume of local history.
Members are encouraged to undertake research. Several
major research projects are ongoing.
CONTACT
The Society welcomes new members and may be contacted
through the website at www.malahideheritage.com or by
telephone at 01 8451967.
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Skerries Historical Society
“We Keep the Past for Pride”
ORIGIN AND AIMS
The Skerries Historical Society was founded in 1948. The
Society aims are to foster interest in and pursue research into
local history, heritage, folklore and traditional local arts and
crafts. Papers or talks are given on the second Tuesday of
each month, except in July and August. Admission is free
and all are welcome. There are now some 250 papers in the
Society’s extensive archive. The archive is a major repository
for local history, folklore and artefacts. The Society has
issued six publications, starting with a collection of Skerries
folklore and folk-ways. The other five publications are the
“Time & Tide” series each containing a selection of ten
papers from the archive. Volumes 1 and 2 are sold out and
the later Volumes can be purchased at a number of local
shops and from the Society.
The Society has erected commemorative plaques to honour,
respectively, Thomas Hand, a local volunteer who died at
the hands of the Black and Tans, and those from Skerries
and District who died in the Great War 1914 -18. The latter
plaque was unveiled on 1 July 2006 on the 90th anniversary
of the commencement of the Battle of the Somme.
Information about the Society can be found on its website
(http://indigo.ie/~skerries/history) which also has some
short articles on historical topics as well as information on
researching local history and links to other local history
related websites. The
Society has presented two
local history courses in
conjunction with Fingal
VEC.
18 Windmill at Skerries
MEMBERS
New members are always
welcome.
CONTACT
Hon. Secretary, Skerries
Historical Society,
“The Boathouse”, 17A
Harbour Road, Skerries.
email:
skhistsoc@eircom.net

Swords Historical Society
ORIGIN AND AIMS
Since the Society was founded in March 1982 it has fulfilled
its brief to record, preserve and promote all aspects of the
history of the greater Swords area. Swords was founded in
560AD by St Colmcille. The Saint’s Well is maintained by
the group who recently had a plaque erected there. Run by
dedicated volunteers, the Museum and Heritage Centre at
the Carnegie Library, Swords is open weekdays from 1 p.m.
to 4.30 p.m., with a fascinating collection of old photos and
artifacts on display. The ‘Swords Voices’ series, now in its 16th
year, goes all over the world, while the group continues
recording local memories from year to year. Members
continually lead walks around places of interest, and give talks
to students, ethnic groups etc. The well known Swords
Mummers give many performances, en-couraged by Swords
Historical Society. The group is always interested in hearing
from those with a tale to tell or old photos to loan or donate.
Plaque erected at The Saint’s well.
FINGAL GENEALOGY is managed by Swords Historical
Society Ltd. Affiliated to the Irish Family History Foundation
and founded in 1988, the group is part of a network of
centres nationwide, with researchers available to help those
who wish to trace their Fingallian roots. Parish Registers (CI
& RC) have been indexed by the group. Various other
sources are available, like Headstone Inscriptions, Interment
Records, Vaccination Records - all aids to finding that elusive
ancestor, local placename or townland.
CONTACT
Bernadette/Geraldine/Pauline
Swords Historical Society Co. Ltd/Fingal Genealogy,
Carnegie Library, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin
Tel. (01) 8400080 Email: swordsheritage@eircom.net
Website: www.rootsireland.com
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Fingal presents a fascinating landscape of great antiquity.
There are Mesolithic sites, early Christian monuments,
Norman castles, 18th and 19th century great houses and lots
in between. Within its boundaries lies a magnificent coastline,
lovely river valleys, tranquil country lanes, walking rights-ofway
and quiet villages. There is much to be learned and much
to be protected. The organisations mentioned in this booklet
are all, in their separate ways, concerned with this wonderful
heritage. Why not become involved by getting in touch with
a group in your area where you will be most welcome.
Stella’s Tower, Portrane
The Heritage Network is an initiative of the
Fingal Heritage Plan, and is supported by
Fingal County Council’s Community, Culture & Sports Division
Levins Print 018902055