Thursday 12 January 2012

A miscellany...

I've been trying to catch up on news for the last two weeks and, with this last round up of items, I believe I've almost got there! Almost.

Lunchtime nostalgia on film: The Irish Film Institute is running free screenings of Radharc films made in Ireland between 1961 and 1996. Often provocative, these archive films offer insights into social and religious practices. There's also an interview with Christy Brown and the first film ever made in an Irish prison. At between 20 and 30 minutes long, these are lunchtime perfect if you're near Temple Bar on a cold, frosty January day (Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturday).

Genealogy Records for Westmeath: Flyleaf Press will be publishing a new title, Tracing your Westmeath Ancestors, in April. Written by Gretta Connell of the Westmeath Public Library Service, the book provides a comprehensive guide to tracing ancestors in the county, which includes the towns of Mullingar and Athlone.

TV show starts tonight: Starting tonight on TG4 at 10pm is a second series of Who Lived In My House?. Each episode of the 12-parter examines the architectural evidence of an individual property and speaks to families, neighbours and local historians to discover the characters who crossed the threshold in the past. The opening show features Coolatore House, a Victorian pile near Rosemount, county Westmeath, that links the ancient kings of Ireland to Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky and Shirley Bassey. Repeated on Sunday at 9pm.

The Coming of the Railways: Too late for the main Diary listing, I've received news from Foxrock Local History Club that their main lecture at next week's meeting (Tuesday 17 January, 8pm) is on the subject The Coming of the Railways. The Lecturer will be Brian MacAongusa. In addition, a short talk on the Voting Irregularities in Coldblow Lane, Donnybrook will be given by Greg Peppard. Venue: Foxrock Pastoral Centre, at the junction of Kill Lane /Bray Rd. Admission €4.