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A Camlough man is taking part in a County Mayo local history event that will be discussing case studies in collective memory and deliberate forgetfulness.
Daryll Galloghly is taking part in the talk tomorrow night, 29 May in Castlebar Library as part of his PhD work. The event will ask why are some historical events not part of our Collective Memory, Who decides what is included in our Collective Memory and Why does it matter?
Galloghly's talk is entitled 'Revenge Killings in South Armagh in the 1920's' and focusses on revenge killings in 1922 leading up to and including the Altnaveigh Massacre.
On 13th June 1922, two Catholic civilians were abducted by members of the Ulster Special Constabulary, taken to a small country road and murdered. Their bodies were discovered the following morning by the roadside, lying over two IRA mines. A few hours after the murders, another group of USC men raided the premises of James McGuill, looting and seriously sexually assaulting the female occupants. These attacks were followed by the Altnaveigh Massacre. Under the command of Frank Aiken, leader of the Fourth Northern Division and future Tánaiste, IRA men burned houses and murdered six innocent civilians.
Galloghly explores these case studies and examines the role of collective memory and deliberate forgetfulness in instances of state and non-state terrorism. Questions that Daryll will address include: Why are some instances of our past shared and spoken about, but not others? Who chooses to remember certain things to control the narrative, and why? Furthermore, why do perpetrators of state and non-state terrorism apply communal silence / deliberate forgetfulness to themselves individually and collectively?
Another speaker at the event is Dr Michael O'Connor whose talk is entitled 'Naming and Renaming the Enslaved on the Carribean Plantations of the Killikelly/Kilkelly Family, 1790-1834'
The event is on Thursday 29 May 2025 at 7.00pm in Castlebar Library and you can view it live at https://teams.microsoft.com.
If you happen to be in the area it is free to attend.
Contact Jim O'Connor at joconnor@mayococo.ie or at 094 9064010 for more information.
