"The object of the Society shall be to locate, preserve, examine, publish and illustrate the antiquities, records and traditions connected with the territory comprised within the ancient Kingdom of Meath, corresponding in the main with the modern Diocese of Meath."
Annual Subscription €25
Pay your Annual Membership here (€25).
Membership can also be paid by cheque
or postal order for €25 made out to MAHS and
posted to:David Douglas, (MAHS),
Carberry Lodge,
The Stocks,
Athboy,
Co. Meath,
Ireland. C15 KD82
Dates for your diary:
Next Event:
Wednesday, May 28th at 7:30 pm
Venue: Ashbourne Library 1 -2 Killegland Square Upper,
Killegland Street,
Ashbourne, Co. Meath.
A84 NY73
The Hussey Barons of Galtrim
"My paper on the Hussey Barons of Galtrim is part of a prosopographical study of the baronial families who dominated late medieval Meath (PhD 2020). According to the contemporary Norman-French rhymed chronicle or geste on the Norman invasion of Ireland, Hugh de Lacy in his sub-infeudation of Meath ‘gave a fine territory to Baron Hugh de Hussey’. Part of the text of that grant (c.1172) survives which states that de Hussey was given ‘all the land of Deece which MacGillaSeachlainn held’.
I will trace the family history of the Hussey Barons of Galtrim from the late twelfth century to the early sixteenth century. While Hugh de Hussey, the 1st Baron of Galtrim, lived into old age (he died in 1215), the Hussey family frequently lacked male heirs or they died young, particularly towards the end of the fourteenth and beginning of the fifteenth centuries. The accumulative effect of the recurring plague may have affected mortality and fertility in the family. This so complicated the succession of the baronacy that in 1422 the matter was brought before a jury of the Chancery Court to make a determination.
Various Barons of Galtrim held active positions in the county administration as sheriff or seneschal of Meath, as supervisors of the keepers of the peace and captains of war. Over three centuries after their initial settlement as infeudees of Hugh de Lacy, the Husseys of Galtrim ultimately survived into the sixteenth century, closely connected by a network of kinship ties to the other baronial families, suggesting a county society with some stability."
Caren Mulcahy
26 April 2025
MAHS Inquiries: Tom French, Hon. Sec. (087 4119633)
MEATH ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
ANNUAL EXCURSION, SATURDAY JUNE 21st, 2025
Visiting Wexford: Johnstown Castle, Museum and Gardens, plus tour of historic Wexford town.
Survey
The Meath Archaeological and Historical Society will host their AGM on Tuesday 29th April 2025 in Trim Library at 7.15pm. This year's business will include elections for the President and Vice-President as well as Officers and Council members. We are in need of new Council members so if you are interested, please get in touch. The AGM will also include a motion to raise the annual subscription to €30. Following the AGM, genealogist Aileen Wynne will give a presentation “Who do you think you are? - A beginner's guide to genealogy”.
Also as we look to the future, we want to ensure that the Society remains relevant, responsive, and sustainable. We have launched a survey which will help us make informed decisions about our activities, events, and resources while addressing the challenges of volunteer capacity. We urge you to take part in the survey.
Call for written submissions
Authors are invited to submit articles for publication in Ríocht na Midhe relating to any aspect of the heritage of the Meath-Westmeath region including archaeology, history and literature. Potential contributors are asked to make contact with the Hon. Editor before submitting a paper. Articles up to a maximum of 8,000 words are welcome. Longer articles may be published following consultation with the editor.
For inclusion in the following year’s journal, material should be forwarded by email to the editor (
See more detailed guidelines here.
€500 Prizes for Postgraduate Research
The Meath Archaeological and Historical Society and Meath County Council Heritage Forum offer prizes of up to €500 for postgraduate research in any discipline, commencing after September 2011, devoted wholly or in significant part to any aspect of the heritage (archaeology, history, literature, etc.) of the Meath / Westmeath region.
Entries should be submitted in the form of one or more articles for publication in Ríocht na Midhe. Each entry must be vouched for by the writer's Supervisor of Research. Adjudication will be by a panel appointed by MAHS.
The most recent recipient, Aidan Gilsenan being congratulated by Séamus MacGabhann.
Entries to the Hon. Secretary. Email:
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