Joseph MacDonagh centennial weekend continues today and tomorrow

Photo courtesy of Cloughjordan Heritage

The Joseph MacDonagh centennial weekend continues today and tomorrow.

The event celebrates the life and legacy of the lesser-known MacDonagh brother, who was a prominent politician from 1916-1922.

Joseph was the first elected Sinn Féin TD in the Dáil in North Tipperary in the 1918 elections.


The talks and tour will be particularly interesting for anyone who would like to develop their interest in local history, heritage, and culture.

Tori McMarron, Director of Thomas MacDonagh Museum, says the War of Independence Bus Tour on Sunday will be a special event.

“I’m really looking forward to the War of Independence Bus Tour that’s going to start in Cloughjordan at 11am. Then we’re going to head to Moneygall and stop there and talk, then we’re going to Roscrea, Mount St Joseph’s Abbey just outside Roscrea near Milltown, then we’re heading to Borrisokane, and we’re going to stop at the Modreeny Ambush and then back into Cloughjordan.

“It’s always exciting to get out on a bus and actually see and experience the locations and the individual areas where activities and events actually happened.”

Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/joseph-macdonagh-centenary-weekend-tickets-394032591087?aff=erelexpmlt

Scheduele for Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday, September 24, 10am-4.30pm – Programme of talks, with registration open from 9am:

-‘The greatest young Irishman of his day: The life of Joseph MacDonagh’ – Keynote address by writer and Centenary Weekend Director Gerard Shannon on the extraordinary revolutionary career of Joseph MacDonagh – TD, city councillor, Minister for Labour, political activist, and political prisoner.

-‘Impossible for a Belfast merchant to sell as much as a bootlace in any other part of Ireland’ – An analysis by writer and historian Cormac Moore of Joseph MacDonagh’s role as Director of the Belfast Boycott in 1921.

-‘Internment during the Civil War’ – An exploration by librarian and historian Anne Marie McInerney on the nature of internment during the Irish Civil War including treatment, conditions, and post-internment issues for prisoners.

-‘The Civil War in County Tipperary – a Brief Overview’ – An overview by writer and historian Denis Marnane of events in county Tipperary during the Civil War of 1922-23.

-Closing Remarks – by Dr. Joe MacDonagh, grandson of Joseph MacDonagh and grand nephew of Thomas MacDonagh.

Sunday, September 25, 11am-3pm – A War of Independence Bus Tour hosted by renowned local historian John Flannery will highlight points of interest in north Tipperary which were affected by the War.

Starting and ending in Cloughjordan, the tour will visit sites in Moneygall, Roscrea, Shinrone, Borrisokane and Modreeny.