Drawing of Dunsandle tower house from 1791 by aristocrat (and suspected French spy) Charles Etienne Coquebert de Montbret. Newsletter No 13 Autumn 2013 Events - Lectures 2013 Tuesday October 29th. Lecture by Dr Christy Cunniffe, Field Monument Advisor with Galway County Council, entitled; The Funerary Art of East Galway. In The Irish Workhouse Centre, Portumna at 8.30 pm . This lecture will explore the richness of the art found on the gravestones of East Galway. It will demonstrate the variety of the religious and secular iconography employed and explain the religious symbolism behind each of the motifs. The gravestones of East Galway are a rich repository of religious and secular art and once understood each decorated panel can This image of an interesting winged angel head is found b ecome veritable miniature gallery of meaning. on a ledger in Clonfert graveyard. The facial expression Christy Cunniffe has been recording and studying the funer- is very unusual. The eyes appear to be closed perhaps as ary art of East Galway for over twenty years. a reflection on death. Symbols such as these make our Tuesday ovember 28th. graveyards interesting places to visit. If you discover any unusual iconography or have a query about a particular Lecture by Dr Miriam Moffitt, entitled; Clanrickarde’s plant- ers and land agitation in east Galway 1886-1916. In The symbol please contact the editor at
[email protected] Irish Workhouse Centre, Portumna at 8.30 pm. Dr Moffitt teaches Church History in St Patrick's College, Drumcondra; St Patrick's College, Maynooth and St Patrick's College, Thurles.