IHTA Seminar 2019 and Drogheda Launches

Drogheda Launch

Peter Kennedy, President of the Royal Irish Academy, launched Irish Historic Towns Atlas no. 29, Drogheda/Droichead Átha by Ned Mc Hugh in the Highlanes Gallery on Tuesday 14 May 2019, which commenced a number of events around the Drogheda atlas and IHTA project. Ned Mc Hugh gave a short tour to the editors and staff of the Royal Irish Academy of St Laurence Street and Gate. For more on that launch please click here. 

Port Tour

On Thursday 16 May 2019, Lar Joye, Heritage Director of Dublin Port Company, led a small bus tour from Academy House to Dublin Port via the site of the former Ballast Building and North Quays before entering the port and guided us around the active docks and customs areas ahead of the public lecture that evening. 

Dublin Port Lecture

Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive of Dublin Port welcomed attendees and gave a brief introduction to some of the port’s activities. Professor Colm Lennon delivered his lecture on the Shaping of Dublin Port where he discussed the development of the port from Viking origins to the present-day port to a full house. The lecture officially opened the annual Irish Historic Towns Atlas seminar that took place in Academy House the following day, Friday 17 May 2019. 

IHTA Seminar

Peter Kennedy, President of the Royal Irish Academy welcomed attendees and opened proceedings for the seminar ‘Seascapes and townscapes–Ports in the Nineteenth-Century City’. Howard Clarke, member of the IHTA editorial board, chaired the first session with the first paper by Jacinta Prunty (IHTA editorial board and Maynooth University). Her paper examined ‘State investment and port infrastructure in the nineteenth century: case studies from the IHTA’ that set the tone for the seminar. Frank Cullen (IHTA) focused on changes in Dublin and Belfast ports during the ‘golden age of engineering’. Zofia Maciakowska (Polish Academy of Sciences) put ports in a European context by giving an analysis of northern European ports that have been included in the Historic Towns Atlas scheme. 

After lunch the emphasis turned to specific case studies of Glasgow, Hull and Drogheda. John Moore (University of Glasgow) focused on the Scottish city and how the port affected development. David Atkinson (University of Hull) placed Kingston-upon-Hull in its wider world by examining port activities such as whaling. Ned Mc Hugh ended the afternoon session with a detailed explanation of the extension of Drogheda port. 

For the plenary session, chaired by Keith Lilley (Historic Towns Trust/Queen’s University Belfast) five panellists addressed: 1. The point of studying ports and what their topography can tell us; 2. How ports relate to town and cityscapes; 3. If historic town atlas methodologies can be used to create and atlas of a port. 

The panellists were Lar Joye (Dublin Port), Sylvia Loeffler (NCAD), Niall Brady (Archaeolgoical Diving Company), Jacinta Prunty (IHTA/MU) and Colm Lennon (IHTA).  

Drogheda launch

Virginia Teehan (CEO, Heritage Council) officially launched Irish Historic Atlas no. 29, Drogheda/Droichead Átha by Ned Mc Hugh at a reception in Academy House that followed the seminar. 

Drogheda lecture

On Saturday 18 May 2019, Ned Mc Hugh gave a public lecture in the Highlanes Gallery entitiled 'A tour of the Irish Historic Towns Atlas of Drogheda' to another full house. During the lecture, Mc Hugh displayed various illustrations of the town and pointed out interesting features and facts.

To buy a copy of Irish Historic Towns Atlas no. 29, Drogheda/Droichead Átha by Ned Mc Hugh please click here. 

More photos from the various events below: