Donaghmore Historical Society

01/11/2026

🎭 WHEN HISTORY COMES TO LIFE IN DONAGHMORE!

FRANCIS HUTCHESON: FATHER OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT, SON OF ULSTER

📅 Monday 9 November | 8pm
📍 Donaghmore Heritage Centre
🗺️ First time visiting? Find us on Google Maps:
Get directions to Donaghmore Heritage Centre https://maps.app.goo.gl/fYExTwq1T9bQMCjv6?g_st=ic

His ideas influenced thinking across centuries and continents, yet Francis Hutcheson, one of Ulster’s greatest philosophers, didn’t necessarily convince those closest to him.

Not even within his own father’s church!

And that’s where our evening begins.

🎭 A LITTLE DRAMA, A LOT OF HISTORY!

We’re delighted to welcome Isaac Beattie, who will open the evening with a living-history re-enactment of a complaint made against the young Francis Hutcheson by an elder of his father’s Presbyterian congregation.

With over 30 years’ experience bringing history to life, Isaac has worked with museums and heritage venues across Ireland and continues to help coordinate Armagh’s hugely popular Georgian Festival.

Rev Tony Davidson will explore Hutcheson’s remarkable journey from the Presbyterian world of Ulster to the Enlightenment and ideas that travelled across the Atlantic.

A little controversy, remarkable history and an evening you won’t want to miss!

☕ AND OF COURSE, THE DONAGHMORE WELCOME!

Tea, coffee, biscuits, good conversation and a warm welcome for everyone. Come on your own, bring a friend or join us online!

🎟️ ADMISSION & MEMBERSHIP

🏛️ Members FREE | Visitors £5

💻 Live Zoom £5 — book through Eventbrite by 5pm on Monday.

⭐ Annual membership £20 — enjoy a whole season of history, in person or live on Zoom! Join and pay at the door, book through Eventbrite or email [email protected].

🎟️ Eventbrite bookings:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/francis-hutcheson-father-of-the-enlightenment-son-of-ulster-tickets-2003839391562

🎁 A LITTLE HISTORY TO TAKE HOME!

Tony Davidson’s Meeting Among the Spires and Patricia’s The Terraces & Rows, Lanes ~ Entries of Dungannon Town will be available to purchase, alongside FREE copies of our Society’s publication, Thomas Greer & America.

Sharing the history of our place, ó ghlúin go glúin — from generation to generation.

📷 Photographs kindly supplied by Isaac Beattie.

Please share. Everyone is welcome!

31/10/2026

A lovely post from our friends at Irish Famine Orphan Girls in Australia.

Among those who made that extraordinary journey was Eliza Addey, who left Dungannon Workhouse for a new life in Australia.

Along with their hopes for the future, these young women carried memories, customs and traditions of home.

A beautiful reminder of the enduring connections between our local history and the Irish diaspora.

Oíche Shamhna shona daoibh go léir! 🎃

Hallowe’en is celebrated in many parts of the world. But the ancient celebration dates back to pagan Ireland when Samhain (pronounced ‘sow-wen’) marked the end of the harvest season and the coming of winter; an important aspect of life in a richly agrarian country.

The tradition was part of life for the families of the orphan girls before an Gorta Mór (The Great Hunger) (1845-1852).

Samhain would later become an important event in the religious calendar of Ireland, as Hallowe’en heralded All Hallow’s Eve (1 Nov) and All Hallow’s Day (2 Nov).

This is a time of remembrance and reflection because, on this night, ancient tradition holds that the veil between this world and the Otherworld is at its thinnest, when the dead can walk the earth and move among us.

Scary masks were carved in turnips (Ireland didn’t have pumpkins) and bonfires were lit to ward away any mischievous spirits. Disguises were worn to confuse spirits and keep people safe. While lanterns and candles helped to guide the souls of our ancestors from Purgatory.

Certain foods were traditional for Hallowe’en; most famously, Colcannon (potato and cabbage or kale), Barm Brack (fruit bread), and Soul Cakes (spiced biscuits).

Soul Cakes were given as alms for prayers to be offered for the dead. The practice of giving and eating soul cakes is often seen as the origin of modern trick-or-treating.

The Irish fleeing the Famine brought to their traditional observances to the New World, where it grew into the Hallowe’en we know today.

Oíche Shamhna shona daoibh go léir – Happy Hallowe’en to you all!

Image: Hallowe'en turnip mask (source: Country Life Museum of Mayo)

31/10/2026

31/10/2026

🎃HALLOWEEN -THE STORIES OUR GRANDPARENTS TOLD

In the summer of 1971, Loreto Todd, who grew up in Coalisland, recorded beliefs, sayings and customs in rural communities around Dungannon.

She listened particularly to older women, preserving knowledge passed down by word of mouth.

Published in 1972 as County Tyrone Folk-Beliefs, her research contains 141 numbered beliefs and sayings and three riddles.

🍀 An itchy left hand meant money was coming.

☕ A floating tea leaf foretold a visitor.

🌸 Hawthorn blossom brought indoors was unlucky.

🕯️ On Halloween night, a young woman might look into a mirror by candlelight, hoping to glimpse her future husband!

More than curiosities, these traditions reveal everyday life, local identity and the voices often missing from written history.

Todd was concerned that such knowledge was disappearing.

Fifty-five years later, how much remains unrecorded?

At Donaghmore Historical Society, we believe safeguarding heritage means preserving not only buildings and documents, but also people’s memories, language and traditions.

By sharing this research, we hope to bring generations together, encourage people to reconnect with their local heritage and ensure that valuable knowledge is not lost.

Ó ghlúin go glúin — from generation to generation.

What sayings, customs or superstitions do you remember from your parents, grandparents or older neighbours?

We’d love to hear your memories in the comments.

📖 Read Loreto Todd’s original research:

https://dai.mun.ca/pdfs/lorelang/Loreandlanguageno07July1972.pdf

Please feel free to share. Someone you know might remember a tradition worth preserving.

🎃 Happy Halloween from Donaghmore Historical Society.

Sources and image credits:

📖 Loreto Todd, “County Tyrone Folk-Beliefs”, Lore and Language, No. 7 (July 1972), University of Sheffield. Journal cover: copy held by Memorial University of Newfoundland.

30/10/2026

OLD LIGHT, NEW LIGHT AND JONATHAN SWIFT

What connects Jonathan Swift, a Presbyterian meeting house in Armagh and a young preacher whose congregation walked out on him?

Our Chair, Rev Dr Tony Davidson, has the answers!

In this wonderful short film, Tony takes us back to eighteenth-century Armagh, where Swift reportedly watched workmen reusing stones from an old abbey and accused them of “chiselling Popery out of the very stones.”

Then there’s Francis Hutcheson, whose progressive ideas proved rather too much for his father’s congregation. According to the story, all but three walked out during his sermon!

Behind these colourful episodes lies a fascinating history of Old Light and New Light Presbyterianism, the Enlightenment and the changing world of eighteenth-century Ulster.

And the story continues in Donaghmore!

Join us on Monday 9 November at 8 pm, when Tony will explore Francis Hutcheson: Father of the Enlightenment, Son of Ulster.

Tony also tells these stories in his book, Meeting among the Spires, tracing 350 years of First Armagh Presbyterian Church.

A wonderful opportunity to discover more about the people, ideas and debates that helped shape our history.

Feel free to share.

30/10/2026

A real privilege to have been among the audience for this wonderful evening.

Armagh Robinson Library & No 5
is a shining example of how our historical and literary treasures can be preserved, celebrated and made accessible to the wider public.

Events like this demonstrate the enduring appetite for history and the importance of bringing scholarship and communities together.

Congratulations to everyone involved. A remarkable occasion in a truly remarkable setting!

30/10/2026

Delighted to share this upcoming talk from our friends at Rock and District Historical Society. A fascinating subject, particularly given the rich Gaelic heritage of our own area.

Supporting one another and sharing research, knowledge and expertise is at the heart of the local history community.

Wishing Laura and everyone at Rock and District Historical Society a wonderful evening!

29/10/2026

A man whose ideas crossed continents... but caused controversy closer to home.

While Francis Hutcheson changed the way people think across centuries and continents he did not necessarily change the way his church nor even his family thought. The talk on Monday 9th November at 8pm will begin with a re-enactment by Isaac Beattie from the Hill of The O Neill & Ranfurly House of a complaint made against a young Francis by one of the elders in his Father’s church.

29/10/2026

📚 GULLIVER’S TRAVELS AT 300

🏛️ Surely one of the most beautiful rooms in Ireland!

A privilege to attend this evening’s opening lecture at the magnificent Armagh Robinson Library & No 5, celebrating the 300th anniversary of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.

Professor Ian Campbell Ross of Trinity College Dublin
delivered a fascinating account of the book’s complicated publication history, with Professor Moyra Haslett of Queen’s University Belfast chairing the discussion.

A warm welcome from the Very Revd Shane Forster, Dean of Armagh and Keeper of the Library, and Carol Conlin, Assistant Keeper, set the scene for a wonderful evening.

📖 A particular highlight was the opportunity to see Swift’s own copy of the 1726 first edition, complete with annotations in his own handwriting. An extraordinary piece of literary history!

👏 Congratulations to Armagh Robinson Library on a wonderful evening and a superb programme celebrating this remarkable anniversary.

📅 Two further lectures take place on 12 and 26 November, while the accompanying exhibition continues until 24 December.

🎟️ Admission is free, but booking is essential.

🔎 Further details:
https://armaghrobinsonlibrary.co.uk/exhibition-gullivers-travels-at-300/

A fascinating evening in an exceptional setting and a reminder of the extraordinary literary and historical treasures on our doorstep. 📚✨

📸 Photographs taken at this evening’s lecture, with one image courtesy of Armagh Robinson Library fb page .