This year’s John Boyle O’Reilly School will take place on July 2nd 2022 in the Governor’s House, Millmount Quarter Drogheda.
The School is earlier this year, as the 100th anniversary of the shelling of Millmount Tower is on July 4th shortly after the outbreak of Irish Civil War.
This year’s School will examine the Civil War as it played out in Drogheda and the surrounding areas and the presentations will reveal new insights into the conflict locally and its impact on the broader Irish politics and society.
The outbreak of the Irish Civil War in June 1922 was due to the culmination of tensions, mainly arising out of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty with the British in 1921, which in the opinion of many was a treaty accepting something less than complete independence for Ireland.
How did men who had fought together for the ideal of a free and independent Ireland then fight each other, dividing communities and families and former comrades in two opposing camps of war.
One of the opening actions of the Irish Civil War came to Drogheda, culminating in the shelling of Millmount Tower by the Pro-Treaty forces on July 4th 1922, just one hundred years ago.
After a number of years absence, this John Boyle O’Reilly School will examine the Civil War as it played out in Drogheda and the surrounding areas, and will reveal new insights in the extraordinary events in 1922/23, assessing the impact of conflict not only on the broader Irish politics and society, but the impact on Drogheda and its surrounding districts.
Tickets can be booked through the Old Drogheda Society office and on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/john-boyle-oreilly-school-tickets-35387302273
