A list of all those involved in the ad hoc group who are planning this initiative will appear here shortly, when responses to the invitations issued in mid-August are received. 

 

The past activities associated with those members of the group approached to date include

 

The James Hoban Commemoration, which celebrated between 2006 and 2008 the life and work of the Kilkenny-born architect and builder of The White House; the program included events, publications and heritage installations on both sides of the Atlantic

 

Kilkenny to Carolina 2009: A conference in Charleston, South Carolina celebrating the connections between the county of Kilkenny and the U.S. state

 

Canon Carrigan Commemoration 2005 and 2010: Events and publications marking the centenary of the publication in 2005 of the History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory, and the 150th. anniversary in 2010 of the 

 

Bishop Birch Commemoration 2011: A day-long program of activies and presentations in his native Conahy and Kilkenny city to mark the 100th. anniversary of the birth, and the 30th. anniversary of the death, of Dr. Peter Birch, Bishop of Ossory (1964-81; co-adjutor 1962-64)

 

The Renehans in Ireland and America 2013: A presentation with speakers from Ireland and the US on the Renehans of East Tipperary and Kilkenny City, who produced a President of Maynooth and a door-keeper at the White House

 

John Bradley Commemoration 2015: A local commemoration of the noted Kilkenny-born scholar who died at the age of sixty in November 2014, with speakers from Ireland and America

 

 

PROJECTS

 

It is planned to produce a web-based compilation of biographies of people born in, or connected to, the areas of Kilkenny, Laois and Offaly, as well as peripheral areas in Kildare, Carlow, Tipperary and Waterford. 

 

A series of lectures and presentations is also being considered in the short term, as well as the setting up of a physical location where historical and heritage-related materials can be conserved and used as the basis of courses and imaginative presentations and publications