On Friday, 14th August 2026, after a very interesting talk by Aideen Ireland, the Society celebrated the beginning of the Summer School, The school began over 50 years ago as a training for members with an interest in archaeology. A cake in the form of a castle (in memory of the excavations at Dundrum) was the centrepiece of the the celebration. Our President, Rob Goodbody, gave a short slide show which recalled the early years of the Society. Adrienne Hume took the photographs.
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26 Jul 2026 Dean Swift Walk (booked out)
With Brendan Twomey Brendan Twomey will guide us around sites associated with Swift, ending in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, with the possibility of attendance at Evensong at 3.15pm (the latter to be confirmed). Approx. max. 20 people / €10 each (now fully booked)
22 Jul 2026 Royal Irish Academy, Dawson St.
Guided Visit There will be a €5 donation to the Academy The Royal Irish Academy, established in 1785, serves as an all-island learned society, recognising academic achievement and contributing expertise to enhance the public good
19 Apr 2026 Hill of Slane & Tara with Anthony Murphy
The Society’s annual outing for 2026 is a visit to the Hill of Slane & Tara. Our guide will be Anthony Murphy who led last year’s visit to Oldcastle &
4th Mar 2026 The Irish Ringforts after Three Decades by Matthew Stout
4th Feb 2026 AGM + 2 Short Talks
The Annual General Meeting will take place followed by 2 short talks: a short introduction to the updated website by John Roden followed by a talk about Lafcadio Hearn by Richard Ryan.
7th Jan 2026 The Irish Jacobite army 1689-91 by Harman Murtagh
Dr Harman Murtagh is a former senior lecturer and visiting fellow at Athlone Institute of Technology, now a constituent college of the new Technological University of the Shannon. Educated in the Trinity history school and the Law Society of Ireland, he is a former president of the Military History Society of Ireland whose journal The Irish Sword, he edited for twenty-four years. He has also served as president of the Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement. He has written four books, the latest of which is The Irish Jacobite army, published by Four Courts Press in 2024. He is also the author of numerous articles, book chapters and contributions to The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, The Dictionary of Irish Biography and the ‘Athlone’ fascicle of The Royal Irish Academy’s Irish Historic Towns Atlas. A companion volume to The Irish Jacobite army is in preparation.
3 Dec 2025 Rock Art by Finola Finlay
Now retired, Finola Finlay lives in West Cork and writes and edits the popular arts and culture blog, Roaringwater Journal which she began in 2012 with her husbandRobert Harris who sadly died in 2024. The Journal has been continuously published every weeksince then on a wide variety of topics (mostly focussed on West Cork) includinglandscape and the natural world, archaeology and history, music, language andliterature, architecture, food, art and culture and local events. Finola holds a BA (history and archaeology) and MA (archaeology) from theNational University of Ireland. She has conducted post-graduate research at University College Cork on prehistoric rock art and at Simon Fraser University (BC, Canada) on the BC fur trade. Finola retired in 2010 as the Associate Director of the British Columbia Council onAdmissions and Transfer.
