Maureen Hegarty
Maureen Hegarty, was a local historian and president of the Kilkenny Archaeological society.Biography
Maureen Hegarty was born to Denis and Mary Hegarty, schoolteachers in Johnswell village in 1921. She was educated in Johnswell and the Presentation convent secondary school before she graduated with an arts degree in English and History from University College Dublin. After teaching in Newport in Wales during the Second World War, Hegarty returned to Ireland to teach, first in her own secondary school and then becoming vice principal of the Loreto Secondary School in Kilkenny City.
In 1952 Hegarty joined the Kilkenny Archaeological Society and was elected to the council in 1957. Hegarty was elected president of the society in 1988. She was a regular contributor to the Old Kilkenny Review and wrote a book on the foundation of the Presentation school in Kilkenny. Hegarty was involved in getting Rothe House, the historic city centre merchant's house, restored and set up to be used as the base of the KAS. Hegarty also founded the Annual Youth Heritage project which involved a competition for projects from school children. Hegarty was awarded an honorary master's degree from NUI Maynooth in 2007. She was also honoured during the Kilkenny People of the Year awards in 2013. She died in Kilkenny in 2016 and was buried in Foulkstown, County Kilkenny.
