Book Launch for Donabate Author Gerard Ronan

Gerard Ronan, the author of several books based on aspects of Fingal local history, particularly within the area of Portrane, has just published his two latest books.  The Deputy Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. Cathal Boland launched the publication of these two new titles at Fingal Local Studies and Archives, 46 North Street, Swords, on Monday 24th October.

The books, The Seduction of Benedict Arthur, and The Falsest Rogue: Rev. Matthew Pilkington Vicar of Donabate, tell the fascinating stories of two figures from the history of Donabate in the eighteenth century. These books have been published with the support of Fingal County Council.

Cllr. Boland said: “I am pleased to have the opportunity to launch these two books authored by Gerry Ronan. They add to his existing list of six previous titles. History is a great passion of mine, and I am delighted that Gerry has again produced in these two books fascinating insights into the characters which shaped the history of the Donabate and Portrane peninsula.  As the American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) wrote: “’There is one mind common to all individual men, of the works of this mind history is the record…’”. Books such as these afford us all the opportunity to see and reflect on those who shaped our communities and may well provide inspiration for us to do so much more.”

Gerard Ronan said, “I can't thank Fingal Libraries enough for supporting this project and allowing these stories to be told. I hope they add in some small way to people's enjoyment of the peninsula and help to create a greater sense of place. As the final two in a series of ten, these books shed light on a very different type of heritage than the preceding eight, but are no less interesting or entertaining for all that”.

The Falsest Rogue: Rev. Matthew Pilkington, Vicar of Donabate tells the story of one of the most divisive figures in Irish history.  Rev. Matthew Pilkington once allegedly attempted to sell his children into slavery and pimp out his wife to his libertine friends to procure a divorce. For almost thirty-three years, he laboured as Anglican Vicar of Donabate, his time and attention frequently absorbed less in the spiritual needs of his ever-diminishing flock, than in the creation of his famous Dictionary of Painters — the first handbook of connoisseurship to be written in English. He also helped to establish the famous Cobbe Art Collection at Newbridge House.

The Seduction of Benedict Arthur tells the story of the origins of Seafield House, and how the Arthurs of Great Cabragh became the Arthurs of Seafield. Benedict Arthur was just seventeen when he wed Catherine Hacket, who was at least thirty-eight, in 1712. The allegations of seduction and abduction that followed their secret marriage would lead to a famously bitter legal battle that would take almost two decades to resolve. Unable to divorce, it would not be until Catherine's death, in 1749, that Benedict could finally legitimise his mistress and children and move them into the magnificent Palladian villa that he had built on the shores of the Broadmeadow Estuary, close to the village of Donabate.

Gerard Ronan is the author of eight previous books published as part of a four-year (2019-2022) co-operative venture with Fingal County Council. His books on local history / biography are William Kelly of Portrane: Forgotten Hero of the Famine and land War (2019); The Round Towers of Fingal: Their Hidden History (2019); Sophia Parnell-Evans: Feminism, Politics and Farming in 19th Century Portrane; and Margaret Evans – Poet of Portrane.  His children’s novels/ local folklore and history books combine fiction and an explanation of the historical background. His titles for children are The Legend of Goban (2021); The Legend of Joseph Daw (2021); Lucky Kate (2021); and The Old Man and The Tower (2021). All of Gerard Ronan’s books are available from Fingal Libraries.