I regularly come across Cavan natives during my pension file research. They are men Like James DeLacy of Templeport, who left behind a dependent mother when he was gunned down along with many of his Irish Brigade comrades at Antietam; men like Mathew Henry of Lattoon, whose immigrant experience in America was cut short when he met his death at Williamsburg; men like Terrence O’Reilly of Kill, who left behind a wife and daughter when he died of cholera while in Union service in 1863. Next week Cavan will go further than any other Irish county has in the past in examining and remembering the impact of the American Civil War on people from their locality. To mark the launch of their American Civil War Exhibition in Johnston Central Library, a number of lectures and events have been organised of which I am honoured to be a part. I hope that anyone in the area will take this unique opportunity to examine what this war meant for many thousands of Cavan people. To find out more about the event you can see the programme online here, and it is also reproduced below.Cavan and the American Civil War

Wednesday 5th August, Johnston Central Library, 8pm

  • Launch of the American Civil War Exhibition
  • Performance of the Cavan Singers
  • Keynote Address by Dr. Patrick Fitzgerald, Mellon Centre for Migration Studies, Omagh

Thursday 6th August, Johnston Central Library

  • 10am – Cavan’s Involvement in the American Civil War by Dr. Brian Scott
  • 11.15am – Mathew Brady and Civil War Women by Aidan O’Hara
  • 12.00pm – Gettysburg- the Decisive Battle of the American Civil War? by Dr. David Murphy
  • 2.00pm – An Introduction to the Irish of the American Civil War by Damian Shiels
  • 3.15pm – North and South: Ireland and the American Civil War by Ian Kenneally
  • 4.15pm – The First Myles? The Life and Career of Charles Graham Halpine by Dr. Myles Dungan

Thurday 8th August, Town Hall, 8pm

  • The Fighting Irish: Irish Soldiers, American Wars with Dr. Myles Dungan and Celtic Tenor Matthew Gilsenan

For booking you can contact Cavan Genealogy Centre, First Floor, Johnston Central Library and Farnham Centre, Farnham Street, Cavan, email cavangenealogy@eircom.net or phone +353 (0) 49 4361094