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heritage · Saturday 3 October 2026 · Various 
Local Studies Under the Microscope
At Greville Arms Hotel · Pearse Street, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, N91 X9RN
At Greville Arms Hotel · Pearse Street, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, N91 X9RN
Local Studies Under the Microscope is a free two-session workshop series for anyone interested in researching their own area, held in the Harp Room at the Greville Arms Hotel in Mullingar on Saturday, 3 October and Saturday, 10 October 2026. Organised through the Creative Ireland programme in Westmeath, the sessions are built around the idea that local studies are the foundation stone of national history, the place most people first encounter historical artefacts, locations and personalities close to home.
The series works through five core strands of local research: social history, landscape studies, cartographic skills for reading old maps, historical fiction as a source, and poetry as a historical record. Rather than academic lectures, the sessions are pitched as practical, hands-on “how to” workshops aimed at people starting out on family or local history research, with no prior skills or experience needed, just curiosity and a willingness to take part. Running the topics across two Saturdays gives participants time to try some research between sessions and bring questions back to the second date. The workshops are run in the Harp Room, a meeting space inside Mullingar’s Greville Arms Hotel, best known locally for its James Joyce connections.
The Greville Arms Hotel is on Pearse Street in Mullingar town centre, within walking distance of Mullingar railway station on the Dublin to Sligo Irish Rail line and the town’s main bus stops. On-street parking and nearby car parks serve the hotel.
The workshops sit right in the centre of Mullingar, so it is easy to combine either session with lunch in town or a visit to the county museum nearby. There is more to see and do in Mullingar and across Co. Westmeath.
Heading to Greville Arms Hotel in Mullingar? Westmeath has plenty more to see. Read the Mullingar area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.