'Heritage and Culture truly alive in Nenagh'

Over 550 attend wide range of interesting local events

For Heritage Week 2024, Nenagh Tourist Office co-ordinated 14 events with the assistance of Nenagh Heritage Centre and Nenagh Castle.

Some events had multiple occurrences, such as Nenagh Courthouse, which had four tours, stories in the castle with two sessions and tales of the gaol, which had four tours. The events were mainly held in the Nenagh Historic and Cultural Quarter, and staff from the Heritage Centre, Tourist Office, Nenagh Castle and a number of volunteers helped to ensure that the events ran smoothly and were a fantastic success.

In total, 551 attended our Heritage Week events over the week and left some very positive feedback. “A great week of events," one attendee wrote. "Well done to all involved; some very interesting talks, gatherings, music and dance. Heritage and Culture is truly still alive in Nenagh.”

WALKING TOURS

Walking tour with routes through Nenagh’s Historic and Cultural Quarter (Ukrainian walking tour) with Bela – Saturday, August 17: Bela, our volunteer Ukrainian Tour Guide, gave a tour of Nenagh to 14 Ukrainians. The tour started at Nenagh Tourist Office, taking in Nenagh Castle, Nenagh Heritage Centre, the Military Barracks, St Mary of the Rosary, Nenagh Courthouse, the friary and the Rex Ingram mural.

Connecting with our justice system – guided historical tours of Nenagh Courthouse with Michael Reynolds – Tuesday, August 20: The tours met at Nenagh Tourist Office and were then brought over to the courthouse where Michael gave an outline of the history of the development of the courthouse, and the operation of the justice system, including references to some of the more famous trials held there.

Groups got to visit the cells, the courtrooms and the underground tunnel, which was used for bringing prisoners to and from the gaol to the courthouse. There was a mix of all ages on the tours; some participants were local while others came from other counties. We were delighted to welcome a group from St Cronan’s Association, who participated in a tour.

The final tour of the day had a mixture of Irish and Ukrainian participants, with eight Ukrainians taking part. Bela, our volunteer tour guide, translated on this tour.

‘THE KENYON STREET TRAGEDY’

On Tuesday, August 20, Dr John Reynolds, a retired Garda, spoke about the ‘Kenyon Street Tragedy’ of 1944, telling the story of two members of the Civic Guards, James Lynch and Denis Harrington, who died following a shooting incident in the former Garda Barracks on Kenyon St (Barrack Street).

He drew on inquest reports and court documents to illustrate the case and provided a slide show, which included photos of the old garda station where the tragedy took place. This was a very interesting talk and was a testament to the painstaking research undertaken by John into one of the poignant stories of Nenagh’s past.

On Wednesday, August 21, stories and poems were told to pre-school aged children. This was an interactive session with parts of the stories where children could join in. This event was held in Nenagh Heritage Centre, which is located in the former Governor’s House. Following its history as part of the justice system, the building went on to be part of the educational system in Nenagh run by the Sisters of Mercy.

There was a Heritage Treasure Hunt for families on Wednesday, August 21. It started from Nenagh Heritage Centre, where participants got a map with questions on the back. Their mission was to find the answers to questions within the Heritage Centre, the Castle Garden, Nenagh Castle and Nenagh Tourist Office. All the staff dressed up as heritage heroes in capes and eye masks to make it more fun!

KENNEDY CONNECTIONS

A talk on Kennedy family connections took place on Wednesday, August 21, at Nenagh Heritage Centre where there is an on-going exhibition by the Irish Kennedy Heritage Group tracing the connection of the Kennedys and the O’Kennedys within the area.

Connecting with Our Past: Tales of the Gaol with Ger – Thursday, August 22: Ger Maher from Nenagh Heritage Centre told the story of the Cormack Brothers in the gatehouse. We had 10 Ukrainians on the last tour with Bela our volunteer translating.

Nenagh Military Barracks: Local Heritage and Family Connections – Thursday, August 22: At Nenagh Tourist Office, Michael Reynolds gave a very interesting and informative talk on the Nenagh Military Barracks, referencing local families and connections.

Connecting with Our Culinary Culture, a presentation by Peter Ward – Friday, August 23: 32 people attended at the Heritage Centre to enjoy a culinary presentation by Peter Ward and Mary McDonagh from Country Choice. Peter’s passion for food and for use of local ingredients came across as he talked about breads, jams, cheese, meat, herbs and the history of cooking in Ireland.

On Friday, August 23, Michael Murphy led an hour-long walking tour that included an opportunity to view some of the unique architecture of Nenagh and to hear about the past uses. Michael used old maps of Nenagh to show how the town had developed.

‘A TOWN WITH A STORY TO TELL’

Friday, August 23, saw the premiere of the film 'Nenagh: A Town with a Story to Tell'. Producer Jack Spain interviewed and filmed people from Nenagh in the Tourist Office, talking to them about their memories of living in Nenagh throughout the years. The film had stories from people aged 66 up to 100, who had lived and worked in Nenagh.

This film was made to keep the memories and stories of Nenagh alive for future generations to see. The film was premiered in the tourist office and it was shown to a packed-out house, who gave the producer a standing ovation following the screening. The film was made for Heritage Week and will be shown in the tourist office again in the future.

On Saturday, August 24, tour guide Kevin Whelan shared stories in Nenagh Castle about the 13th century iconic landmark of the town, while Rosemary Joyce was the MC for an evening of music and storytelling in Nenagh Tourist Office. DJ and Jack Fitzgerald played a few tunes on the banjo and harmonica, followed by ‘For the Sake of the Parish’ an entertaining story from Noel Joyce, a Scór 2024 winner.

We had two poems from Rosemary Joyce – her own compositions. We also had a few tunes from Emma Fitzgerald on the banjo and Jack McGrath on guitar. Caithlin McGrath played the flute and sang a few songs that people joined in on.

Finally on Sunday, August 25, Dr Anthony Grey spoke about Lough Derg and its Ecosystem. The attendees really enjoyed the talk and had lots of questions for Anthony at the end. The attendees are interested in learning more and doing more events on this topic, so this is something we are going to look further into.