Aims of the Society

"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

Annual Subscription €25

Membership can also be paid by cheque or postal order for €25 made out to MAHS and posted to: David Douglas, MAHS Treasurer, Carberry Lodge, The Stocks, Athboy, Co. Meath, Ireland. C15 KD82

Your subscription includes membership of the Society for the year and a copy of the current edition of Ríocht na Midhe, the annual journal of the society. Packed with interesting articles and book reviews it is a 'must' for anyone with an interest in this area.

A letter from the MAHS President - Mr J. F. Cogan.

A Chairde,
I hope this letter finds all of the Friends of the Society in good health and in good spirits, despite the strange dislocation of the times we are experiencing over recent months. To all who have experienced the loss of a loved one, we extend our deepest sympathy, and we know that many others, who are in the senior age category or who have long-term health issues, are dealing with the anxiety caused by the worrying spread of the virus which is now in its second phase. We can only look forward to better times, let us hope, in the coming year.
Like most other local history societies and voluntary organisations around the country, the MAHS has had our activities for 2020 severely disrupted by the necessary public health guidelines and restrictions imposed by government. In effect, our programme from March this year to date has had to be put on hold. Our annual excursion planned for June and our Decade of Centenaries events had to be abandoned. The apparent easing of the situation in mid-summer gave rise to a cautious optimism that we might resume activity in the Autumn but the increased incidence of the infection reported from September on has put paid to that.
Nevertheless, the Society is still working and planning ahead. I am happy to report that, under our excellent Editor, Peter Connell, the next edition of our journal, Riocht na Midhe, is at an advanced stage of preparation for publication in the New Year, with a bumper crop of articles in train. We have recently held a Council meeting on Zoom and are planning to use this “go-to” electronic medium to transmit some lectures to our membership in the months ahead. The first will be the lecture by Siobhan Osgood, on the Architecture of the Great Northern Railway in Meath (the lecture originally scheduled for Oldcastle on the 18th of this month). This will be transmitted by Zoom on 17 November. It will be necessary for members to book in advance (and obtain an access link or code) using the Eventbrite app. Details will be published in advance on the MAHS website (www.mahs.ie).
We hope to organise a number of other lectures on Zoom, in conjunction with planning our programme for 2021, under consideration at present, as it appears more than likely that the current precautions and restrictions will remain in force at least into the Spring, and possibly beyond. We would welcome suggestions from any of our members as to how, apart from that, we might proceed in the months ahead in order to continue to promote and foster interest in and study of our great heritage of local history and archaeology.
We continue to enjoy the much-appreciated support of Meath County Council and the County Library Service in particular. Financial assistance of this year’s Riocht na Midhe and other projects planned in the Decade of Centenaries context are most welcome. At the launch of this year’s Riocht na Midhe in February, we warmly welcomed the news that it was planned to commence recruitment of a County Archivist. Apparently, that plan has had to be temporarily deferred but we hope it can be reactivated again in due course.

Le ‘chuile dea-ghu agus go dté sibh slan,
Frank Cogan

€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.

Entries to the editor, Ríocht na Midhe. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Next M. A. H. S. Programme Event.