Due to unforeseen circumstances, historian Luke Dineen cannot attend the forthcoming festival.

On Saturday evening 27th July 2024 at the Shandon Maldron Hotel at 4:30 pm, local historian Gerard O’Rourke will instead give a talk about his recently published book “Land War to Civil War 1900-1924 Donoughmore to Cork and Beyond”.

His book chronicles the growth of nationalism in the period which saw an increasing rise of social, political and cultural awareness in the parish of Donoughmore, which in many ways represents a microcosm of the wider changes transforming the political landscape across the Ireland of the time. 

From the visits of Michael Davitt of the Land League and William O’Brien MP to the parish to the dangerous  heroics of native daughters Nora and Sheila Wallace during the War of Independence in Cork city, Gerard explores the impacts, local, national and international on the parish. Though these exploits and many others, Gerard O’Rourke provide a vivid account of the political awakening gaining momentum  in his parish. This is local history at its best!