Delany Archive Heritage Week Lecture at Carlow College

What to Expect

The Delany Archive hosts its National Heritage Week lecture at Carlow College, St Patrick’s on Tuesday 18 August 2026 at 7pm. Dr Niamh NicGhabhann Coleman speaks on “Catholic Churches and Chapels Before and After Emancipation”, drawing on examples from churches in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin.

Dr NicGhabhann Coleman is an Associate Professor in the School of History and Geography at the University of Limerick and is currently researching a book on the development of Catholic architecture in Ireland between the 1820s and the 1930s. That century covers the shift from plain rural chapels built under restriction to the confident stone churches that followed Emancipation, including Carlow’s own Cathedral of the Assumption a short walk from the lecture room.

The Delany Archive, based at Carlow College, holds the diocesan records of Kildare and Leighlin and the college’s own historic collections, so the local examples in the lecture come from primary material rather than general survey. The talk is aimed at a general audience with an interest in local history and buildings.

Good to Know

• Date and time: Tuesday 18 August 2026 at 7pm.
• Venue: Carlow College, St Patrick’s, College Street, Carlow, R93 A003.
• Admission is free of charge and no booking is required. All are welcome.
• Speaker: Dr Niamh NicGhabhann Coleman, University of Limerick.
• Part of National Heritage Week 2026. Further event details at heritageweek.ie.
• Organised by the Delany Archive, the diocesan and college archive housed at Carlow College.
• The lecture was carried in the weekly newsletters of parishes across Carlow, so expect a good local turnout.

Getting There

Carlow College, St Patrick’s is on College Street in the centre of Carlow town, sharing its grounds with the Cathedral of the Assumption. Carlow is reached from the M9 at junctions 5 and 6 and from the N80 from Athy and Portlaoise. The college is a five minute walk from Tullow Street and the Potato Market, and roughly ten minutes on foot from Carlow railway station on the Dublin Heuston to Waterford line. There is limited on-street parking on College Street itself, with paid public parking at Kennedy Avenue, the Potato Market and Carlow Shopping Centre nearby.