Roscommon academic launches new book
Dr Daniel Curley at Rathcroghan Visitor Centre in Tulsk.
A well known and respected County Roscommon academic will be launching a new book this evening.
The launch of 'The Uí Chellaig lords of Uí Maine and Tír Maine - An archaeological and landscape exploration of a later medieval inland Gaelic lordship' was written by the Rathcroghan Visitor Centre Manager, Dr. Daniel Patrick Curley.
A native of Taughmaconnell, Dr Curley has featured in numerous articles and documentary pieces about the county’s fascinating history.
The event will take place in Gullane's hotel, Ballinasloe, this evening, Tuesday 26th November, at 7pm The Ó Cellaig (O’Kelly) lordship of Uí Maine and Tír Maine was a substantial political territory and influential cultural power in later medieval Connacht. This book identifies and reconstructs the physical appearance of the major Ó Cellaig lordly centres from their emergence as one of the principal offshoots of the Uí Maine in c.1100, to the demise of the lordship around the year 1600. It begins with an historical background, which helps to identify the lordly centres (cenn áiteanna), and define the shifting physical boundaries of this territory through the period. The later medieval physical environment is then reconstructed, with an exploration of the resources and economic conditions which underpinned this inland Gaelic lordship.
Thereafter, the focus moves to inspect these cenn áiteanna, their siting, forms and surrounding cultural landscapes. In doing so, the writer investigates a broad range of settlement forms, including the continued use of crannóga and promontory forts, before turning to the tower house castle. This book tackles important themes in later medieval Gaelic society and its physical expression, through the lens of these eastern Connacht lords.
Dr Curley is a graduate of the University of Galway, with a PhD in Archaeology. His research interests lie primarily in the archaeology and cultural heritage of Roscommon and east Galway.
