Launch of Lecale Review No.23: Thursday 23 October
The launch of the 23rd Lecale Review, the annual journal of the Lecale & Downe Historical Society, will take place in Down County Museum on 23 October at 7.30pm.
Documenting the past means promoting our local history and environment. The trustees of the Society are grateful for the impressive contributions to this year’s Review and the commitment of the editorial committee, which consists of Pamela Cooper, Patricia Cross, Ken Dawson, Sheila Duff and Colm Rooney.
This year’s journal contains an eclectic mix of articles by a range of well-known local historians. You will read about Judge Michael Ward of Castleward, a shipwreck off the coast of Tyrella with likely links to the horrors of the slave trade, a consideration of the origin of some common and not so common Christian names and the initial findings of the recent archaeological excavations at Erenagh. Other articles discuss a nineteenth century dispute among the Presbyterian congregation in Clough, the renowned antiquarian JW Hanna and the Downpatrick diarist, Aynsworth Pilson, one of whose anecdotal accounts of County Down life from the Downpatrick Recorder in 1854 is reproduced in full.
Two of the longer pieces will be of particular interest to many in the local community. Fifteen-year-old Conn Lavery has produced a fascinating article on a cist - a stone-built box grave - in the townland of Carrickinabb. Dr Dónal McAnallen’s meticulously researched piece on John McKay from the townland of Cargagh, near Downpatrick, a joint founder of the GAA, will be of significant interest. It is an inspiring tale of historical reclamation and a fulfilling journey for McKay’s living descendants.
The Lecale Review is free to existing members of the Lecale & Downe Historical Society, and it is hoped that as many members as possible will be able to attend the launch. Visitors are also welcome, during which the Lecale Review can be purchased at a cost of £12.
The Museum's doors will be open from 6.45pm to allow members to pick up their copy of the journal and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee while catching up with old and new friends.
Members of the LDHS and visitors are asked to arrive early for the launch on the 23rd so that proceedings can start promptly at 7.30pm.
