OHS lecture on life of Nenagh soldier and adventurer

The next lecture of the Ormond Historical Society will take place at Nenagh's Abbey Court Hotel on Monday March 7th at 8.30pm.

The March lecture will focus on one of the forgotten scions of eighteenth/nineteenth century Nenagh. A soldier adventurer in the European armies and 1798 rebel, Harvey Montmorency Morres certainly led an interesting and exciting life.

This talk by eminent archaeologist and historian Con Manning promises to provide an interesting insight into a neglected aspect of Tipperary/Nenagh biography.

Harvey Morres (1767-1839), who was born in Rathnaleen, near Nenagh, has been described as ‘one of the more picturesque figures of the insurrection of 1798’. He certainly led an eventful life, serving in the armies of Austria and France, as well as playing a prominent role in the 1798 rebellion, for which he narrowly escaped execution. He married twice, in each case to a wealthy heiress, which gave him the leisure for his antiquarian and genealogical researches, resulting in a book on Irish round towers and two extremely rare books on the history of the Morreses, who he claimed were really Montmorencys. This claim was accepted by the authorities, leading one English academic to exclaim: 'I do not hesitate to say that a more impudent claim was never successfully foisted on the authorities and the public.'

Conleth Manning is a Senior Archaeologist with the National Monuments Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. He has a particular interest in medieval archaeology and architecture, and has directed excavations at many sites around the country including Clonmacnoise, the Rock of Cashel, Roscrea Castle and Dublin Castle. A monograph on his excavations at Clogh Oughter Castle, Co Cavan, was published in 2013. He is a past president of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland and of the County Kildare Archaeological Society.

The lecture is open to all with free admission for society members; non members €5 admission. New members are always welcome and anyone coming along who wishes to join later will have their admission charge discounted against membership.