Thousands visit Thomas MacDonagh Centre in Cloughjordan

Several thousand people have visited the Thomas MacDonagh Centre in Cloughjordan since it opened in 2013.

The centre is to become a key focus of next year's national commemoration of the 1916 Rising, it being one of seven designated venues to stage centenary events.
Located at the Main Street house where MacDonagh was born, the centre contains a impressive array of memorabilia and information relating to the revolutionary figure's life and legacy, his family, and the history of Cloughjordan.
The centrepiece attraction is the pianoforte, a magnificent piano that once belonged to MacDonagh's mother, Mary Louise Parker, who gave piano lessons to local children. The Brazilian rosewood piano was built around 1850 and has been lovingly restored. 
The piano is one of a series of heirlooms that have been bequethed to the centre by the MacDonagh family since it opened. Visitors can also inspect original furniture in the house and a collection of instruments used by the very musical MacDonagh family. There's a grammaphone from 1913 that is still in working condition.
Visitors can also inspect poetry books and photographs of MacDonagh and his siblings, coupled with plenty of engaging information about their lives. Some of this is contained in newly installed display cabinets, while the centre also has a new addition on MacDonagh the family man.
Beyond the focus on MacDonagh and 1916, visitors to the centre can learn a great deal about Cloughjordan and its history. There is for example a collection of hurleys dating back to 1900 alongside informative displays on local people and events down through the years. Among these are the Hammell family that used to run the pub and grocery shop where the entrance to the Eco Village is now. Also, Cloughjordan born Patrick Kenendy, who played a key role in setting up the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) with MacDonagh.
Another intriguing feature of the centre is an Irish National Land League flag, last used in 1902, and believed to be one of only five in the country. Upstairs, the community meeting room houses an O'Kennedy family tree, provided by Australian historian Brian Patrick Kennedy, and linking local Kennedy families and with Brian Ború. Here visitors can also inspect photographs of local houses and records of everyone who lived therein, a carefully crafted project of great interest to everyone connected with Cloughjordan.
The Thomas MacDonagh Centre also comprises a new library building and exhibition area, where art exhibtions are regularly held.
Former councillor Jim Casey, who played a driving role with those who established the centre, said the MacDonagh centre has had several thousand visitors. People generally come to Cloughjordan to see the Eco Village but the MacDonagh centre has become very much an attraction of its own right.
Mr Casey looked forward to the centre enjoying increased interest with the series of local events commemorating the 1916 Rising. He added that the library and meeting room at the centre are very well used. The Thomas MacDonagh Centre has become an integral asset to the local community, and its importance in this regard looks set to grow into the future.
For information about the centre visit the website macdonaghheritage.ie