Civil War discussion to be held in Limerick castle
DESMOND Castle in Newcastle West will play host to a special conference featuring some of Ireland’s leading historians for a discussion on the civil war.
The talk, on Wednesday, May 17 will mark the centenary of the end of the Civil War.
The conference is being organised by the Office of Public Works (OPW) Heritage Services which manages Desmond Castle, one of Limerick’s leading heritage sites which last year attracted more than 26,000 visitors.
Three of Ireland’s leading young historians will give talks detailing the bitter conflict in the county a century ago - Dr John O’Callaghan, a native of Limerick who lectures in NUIG, will give an overview of the key events of the Civil War in Limerick.
Author and broadcaster John Dorney will detail how many people were killed in the conflict and examine the deaths of Limerick men and women killed in the conflict.
Liz Gillis, who recently appeared on RTÉ’s Tommy Tiernan show, will deliver a talk on the topic ‘Sister against Sister – The Role of Women in the Civil War’.
Desmond Castle is a fitting venue for the event as it was used as a barracks by the Anti-Treaty IRA during the Civil War.
The conference will be the last in a series of lectures that have been running at the castle since 2013 to mark key events in the “Decade of Centenaries” which led to the emergence of the modern Irish state.
Admission to the castle and attendance at the conference, which starts at 7.30pm, is free. Booking is not required.
Desmond Castle was the scene of vicious fighting between pro and anti-treaty forces on August 7, 1922, when two Anti-Treaty IRA Volunteers - brothers Denis and Edward O’Dwyer - were killed defending the castle, located in the centre of the town.
General Michael Collins, Commander in Chief of the Free State Army visited Newcastle West and inspected troops in front of the castle on August 14, 1922 – just one week before he was killed at Béal na Blá.