Wednesday, 23 September 2015, at 8.00 pm in Lough Ree Yacht Club

Book Launch by Dr John Keane
of
‘Lough Ree Historic Lakeland Settlement
Editors: Bernadette Cunningham & Harman Murtagh
Four Courts Press Dublin 2015

following which

Dr Harman Murtagh will give an illustrated talk:

‘Boating on Lough Ree Throughout the Ages’

The front cover of the book, published by Four Courts Press

In May 2012 The Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement organised a three day conference in part sponsored by The Old Athlone Society which focused on Lough Ree. The studies by scholars of different disciplines spanned from the dawn of history to the late twentieth century.

Combining archaeology, historical geography, history and literature, this book explores the settlement history of Lough Ree through the centuries. Themes include place-names, mythology and literature, the architecture and context of ecclesiastical and secular buildings on the islands and surrounding shores, demesne landscapes, boating on the lake and modern island living. These authoritative studies of key themes associated with the historic settlement of this lakeland region are a valuable resource to inform future work on the heritage landscape of Lough Ree and the River Shannon. The book is part of a successful series of thematic essay collections produced by the Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement.

This beautifully illustrated book is in the main a collection of the papers given at the conference with some additional essays. Among the many contributors are three local scholars, Aengus Finnegan, Gearoid O’Brien and Harman Murtagh.This volume is a must in any collection on the Inland Waterways of Ireland. For publication and purchase details, see fourcourtspress.ie/books/2015/lough-ree.

Dr Harman Murtagh is a native of Athlone. He joined The Old Athlone Society on its foundation, later serving as president. He is currently president of the Military History Society of Ireland and a vice-president of the Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement. He is a visiting fellow at Athlone Institute of Technology. He is the author of numerous publications including the definitive Athlone History and Settlement to 1800.