Frank Hugh O'Donnell, The Member For Dungarvan
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| Muiris O'Keeffe |
Venue: Dungarvan Library
Date: Wednesday, Feb 17
Time: 8 pm
All are very welcome. This is certainly a talk not to be missed. It will be delivered no doubt, with Muiris's particular flair and wit, accompanied with photos, cartoons and other visual material from the period.
Frank Hugh O'Donnell was the last member of Parliament to represent Dungarvan Borough at Westminster (1877-1885). Though little-known today, O'Donnell was one of the leading lights in the Home Rule movement, initially established by Isaac Butt in 1873 and in its successor, the Irish Parliamentary Party under the leadership of Charles Stewart Parnell.
Muiris O'Keeffe is a member of the Museum Society. Born in Dungarvan, he worked as an engineer in various local authorities until his retirement and returned to Dungarvan in 2007. His play, "Days of our Youth", depicting historical events in West Waterford during the War of Independence was staged to great acclaim by Dungarvan Dramatic Club in 2012 and he has since completed another script, as yet unperformed. It was while researching for a separate project on Parnell that Muiris first came across Frank Hugh O'Donnell, who played a minor but important role in the early stages of what came to be known as the Pigott forgery trial. Intrigued by the Dungarvan connection, he set to work and this talk is the end result.
Look forward to seeing you there.