Launch of major book on history of Westmeath

A major work on the history of Westmeath from pre-historic times up to the present day will be launched next week in Athlone.

The book, Westmeath: history and society. Interdisciplinary essays on the history of an Irish county, will be launched on Thursday, March 31, by Dr Harman Murtagh of the Old Athlone Society in Athlone Library at 6.30pm.

This work has been in progress for almost a decade and contains contributions by historians from all parts of the county and elsewhere.

The Westmeath volume is part of a series of county histories commenced by Prof Willie Nolan when he published on his native county Tipperary in 1985.

The Westmeath volume is substantial, comprising some 35 chapters contributed by historians and researchers from the county and from universities in Ireland and further afield. These essays embrace a multiplicity of disciplines including geology, archaeology, folklore, cartography, historiography, literature and art history, which explore the evolution of this midland county from pre-history to present times. There are many essays on Athlone and district in this volume including contributions by members of the Old Athlone Society by historians such as Harman Murtagh, Gearoid O'Brien, Aengus Finnegan and John Burke and many others.

This volume builds on the scholarship of Westmeath historians such as Fr Paul Walsh, Jeremiah Sheehan, Leo Daly, Marian Keaney and Billy English.

Despite the significant contributions of these and other historians, no comprehensive monograph on the history of the county was forthcoming - this detailed history of the county will now become the standard reference work for many years to come.

Edited by historian Seamus O'Brien, Westmeath: history and society has been supported by Westmeath County Council, Westmeath Archaeological and Historical Society and the Old Athlone Society. All welcome.