The opening lecture of our 2020/2021 Lurgan Lecture series exploring aspects of Lurgan’s 18th century, took place on Saturday 16 October at The Jethro Centre when Lurgan’s pre-eminent historian Dr Francis X. McCorry delivered a talk entitled:

Shankill Parish (Lurgan) Church of Ireland Vestry, 1672-1782: District Administration and Community Building

In his talk Dr McCorry examined the early history of the Shankill Parish (Lurgan) Church of Ireland Vestry between the years 1672 and 1782. Drawing upon his many years of research in the Shankill Parish Church archives, Dr McCorry provided an insight into how the Vestry came into being and the personalities involved, before paying tribute to the critical role the body played in the overall administration, development and welfare of the young town of Lurgan in what were challenging years marked by increasing poverty and periodic outbreaks of disease and famine in the town.