As part of the Westmeath County Council Decade of Centenaries programme, Mount Temple resident, Ian Kenneally, has been reappointed Historian in Residence for the period from August until December 2021.
The residency is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media’s Decade of Centenaries Programme, in partnership with Westmeath County Council.
Ian Kenneally is an author and historian. His publications include ‘The Paper Wall: Newspapers and Propaganda in Ireland, 1919-1921’, ‘From the Earth, a Cry: The Story of John Boyle O’Reilly’, and ‘Courage and Conflict: Forgotten Stories of the Irish at War’.
Ian has also contributed to a variety of books including the ‘Atlas of the Irish Revolution’. He was editor of the very popular weekly series, The Revolution Papers, and he has contributed articles to numerous newspapers and magazines.
Ian is currently developing an exhibition which examines the reconnaissance mission to Mount Everest in 1921, led by Charles Howard-Bury of Belvedere House near Mullingar.
He is also finishing a history of Athlone Institute of Technology that will mark the college’s transition to a technological university. He has researched and scripted many documentaries, which have been broadcast on stations such as Midlands 103 and RTÉ Radio One, among others in Ireland and abroad. He has also contributed to television documentaries on BBC and TG4.
Ian has a master’s degree from UCC and is a doctoral student in NUI Galway. He has studied and written about Westmeath during the War of Independence and he will ensure that the commemorative programme continues to focus on the county during 1921.
The Historian in Residence can be contacted at [email protected]. More details on the Historian in Residence project can be found on Westmeath County Council’s website: https://www.westmeathcoco.ie/decadeofcentenaries.
The blog, which has been running since 2020, contains a wealth of articles and videos about Westmeath during the years 1919-1921.
