THE West Wicklow Historical Society is hosting a one-day conference in honour of an esteemed member, the late Donal McDonnell, on Saturday 23 April. The conference takes place in Scoil Naoimh Iósaf, Kiltegan Road, Baltinglass. It runs from 9.45am to 5.30pm and features five lectures and two Q&A sessions.

The topics range from the Neolithic Age to the 20th century, with lectures by Alan Hawkes, Richard (Bosco) Lennon, Emma Lyons, Margaret Murphy, and Liam Kenny with Eamonn Sinnott. The opening address will be given by another historian, Mgr John McEvoy.

Donal McDonnell was one of the society’s best-known members and a former officer, who died on 12 June last year.  For more than 40 years he was associated with the WWHS and he came to be synonymous with the society. Donal had a rich knowledge of local history that included diverse facts about places, people and traditions.

There are separate rates for current members and non-members, but becoming a member is easy online. An early-bird registration is open until 27 March.