The experience of Galway university students and graduates in the First World War (1914-18 ) is the subject of the inaugural lecture in the winter series hosted by the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society. The speaker is Ronan McGreevy, and the lecture will be held in the Harbour Hotel at 8pm on Monday, September 8.
University College Galway (UCG ), as it was known then, was profoundly changed by the First World War. Many students and alumni rushed to enlist. They included an eccentric doctor Arthur Colahan who wrote the song ‘Galway Bay’ and the son of the college president, who was thought to have died in a flying accident, but returned, only to change his name and disappear.
A graduate of the University of Galway, the speaker, Ronan McGreevy, is an Irish Times journalist and the author of several books, including Great Hatred: The Assassination of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP. He was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2018. He has told the story of UCG and the First World War in the book The National University of Ireland First World War Centenary Roll of Honour and Essays, which he co-edited with Dr Emer Purcell.
The lecture is free of charge, but attendees are advised to arrive a little early in order be sure of admission.
