Great turnout for the launch of Lecale Review Number 23

Members of the Lecale & Downe Historical Society gathered in Down County Museum last Thursday evening to celebrate the launch the 23rd edition of Lecale Review, the Society’s annual publication. With the strains of local musician Sara Kelly’s delightful harp playing welcoming the large number of attendees, the formal proceedings began with the Chair of the Lecale & Downe Historical Society, Ken Dawson, expressing thanks to Dr Kris Reid - Curator of the Museum - and his team for their support over the past year in hosting meetings of the Society.

The Lecale Review was first published in 2003, continuing the superb tradition of documenting local history and memory that was already established in issues of the Lecale Miscellany. Ken Dawson, who edited this year’s Lecale Review, expressed his thanks to the outstanding work of the editorial committee consisting of Pamela Cooper, Patricia Cross, Sheila Duff and Colm Rooney, praising their “wisdom, knowledge and eye for detail that have been central to this celebration of local scholarship, focused as it is on the people and places of the Lecale and County Down area we call home.” He also referenced the fact that this and previous editions of the Lecale Review could simply not have been written had it not been for the resources held and made instantly accessible to researchers in the Cultural Heritage Gallery of Downpatrick Library, which holds an unrivalled collection of resources and archives essential to local paper and visitors from abroad who come to Downpatrick to find out more about their family histories. The Gallery must be preserved.

The keynote speakers were the President of the Lecale & Downe Historical Society, Dr Finbar McCormick, and Dr Myrtle Hill who launched the 23^rd Lecale Review. Dr McCormick stressed the importance of local history publications as a means of preserving our understanding of the past. He outlined the pioneering work of Dr Hill, whose published works in the areas of women’s history, theology and the process of local studies shine such an informed light on the past.

Dr Myrtle Hill is no stranger to Downpatrick and was a joint editor of the 1998 publication 1798: Rebellion in County Down, a volume of essays produced to mark the bicentenary of that significant event. As former Director of the Centre for Women’s Studies at Queen’s University in Belfast, Dr Hill is a well-known author, editor and speaker. In her address, she observed that while there are many thriving historical societies across Ulster, very few of these publish journals such as the Lecale Review. The importance of documenting the past and giving locals the opportunity to write about people and places was stressed before Dr Hill praised the work of the contributors.

1. Judge Michael Ward (1683-1759) - an Improver by John McIlroy
2. The Clough Case: A Presbyterian Dispute in 1836 by Ryan Maxwell
3. John McKay (1852-1923) of Cargagh, Downpatrick: Journalist and Joint Founder of the GAA by Dr Dónal McAnallen
4. Christian Names by Dr Brian Turner
5. JW Hanna, Antiquarian: Shedding Some Light on his Life by William Stranney
6. A Tale of Two Ministers by Colm Rooney
7. The Tyrella Slave Ship by John B McMullan
8. Pilson in Person: Extracts from the Diary of Aynsworth Pilson (1777-1863) compiled by Colm Rooney
9. Pilson Remembers: Transcription from the Downpatrick Recorder, 1854 compiled by Dr Finbar McCormick
10. The Carrickinabb Cist by Conn Lavery
11. A Russell in the Woods by Dr Brian Turner
12. Excavations at Erenagh, County Down by Brian Sloan

The Lecale Review is free to members of the Lecale & Downe Historical Society. The 108-page journal will also be available for sale in a number of local outlets, priced at £12.

Attention is already turning to the 2026 edition. Local people with an interest in the history of County Down are invited to contribute. This may be a short commentary or an old photograph, a description of an object or an article on an aspect of Lecale and County Down. Submissions to the editorial committee can be sent to this email address: lecalerevieweditorial@gmail.com. Details on submissions can be read on the Lecale & Downe Historical Society’s website: www.lecaledownehistoricalsociety.co.uk