Decade of Centenaries Programme 2020-23
The Cavan & Leitrim Railway “The Cavan, Leitrim & Roscommon Light Railway & Tramway” opened in 1887, to serve the more remote parts of those three counties. Owing to the withdrawal of support for a “baronial guarantee” from the Roscommon Jury, “Roscommon” was dropped from the original title and the […]
When you search for “fife and drum band” on the Leitrim local studies system, you are given 95 results which is quite a lot considering that there are currently no fife and drum bands in the county. Even Kiltubrid who boasts the longest running pipe band in the county, had […]
Cloone Céilí Band Probably the most “famous” céilí band in Leitrim’s history was Cloone Céilí Band. Owing to Fr. Peter Conefrey’s championing of traditional music and his ability to command national attention – Cloone Céili Band, founded by Conefrey and as pictured here appeared on RTÉ radio for a special […]
Mrs Lily Moffatt (nee Frayne/Freyne) was a great advocate for traditional music and dance. As a prominent member of Cumann na mBan and a lifelong republican, Lily had a unique insight into local political happenings in and round Leitrim and Roscommon from the years before and following the 1916 Rising. […]
The collector Stephen Grier (1824-1894) who was also an uilleann piper and a fiddle player lived for much of his life in Gortletteragh where he collected and transcribed over 1,000 tunes. Short Biography Born around 1824 in North Longford, Grier moved to Gortletteragh once he married Rose McGivney in 1852. […]
Much has been written about William Sydney Clements, the 3rd Earl of Leitrim known most commonly as “Lord Leitrim”. Probably most famous due to his assassination in 1878, Clements also gained infamy because of his treatment of tenants and his supposed mistreatment of women. Lough Rynn Estate itself wouldn’t have […]
