Declan will discuss an often overlooked dimension in the War of Independence that is the part played by local government in bringing the crown establishment to the negotiating table. The talk will include reference to the year 1920 including the local elections for Dublin County Council, Balrothery Rural District Council and Poor Law Guardians, when Sinn Féin won a majority and how they pledged their allegiance to Dáil Éireann. 

Declan Brady is a historian and genealogist based in Swords, Co. Dublin with a history Masters from Maynooth University, where he is currently a John Hume PhD scholar