Granard Booktown Festival: How north Longford town led the way in resisting British rule in Ireland

As part of the Granard Booktown Festival Seán Ó Súilleabháin will highlight the pivotal role of the Granard area in the fight for Irish independence and freedom in a talk this coming Friday, April 21.

Granard was central to the action in the period of the War of Independence and the shooting of RIC inspector, Philip Kelleher, in the Greville Arms Hotel on October 31, 1920 was the IRA’s first real engagement in the county.

The burning of Granard as a reprisal was one of the most despicable actions of the Black and Tans.

The romance between Michael Collins and Granard’s Kitty Kiernan is one of Ireland’s greatest love stories.

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Other Granard women suffered the consequences of war during this period too. Margaret Grehan was the only woman in the county to die at the hands of British forces and Lily Kiernan was Longford’s longest-serving internee during the Civil War.

Memories of many other memorable events will be recounted in an engaging look at Granard’s iconic place in Ireland’s resistance to British rule.

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This talk will be given in Granard Library on this Friday, April 21 at 5pm and admission is free.