Dr. William Henry
Dr. William Henry is a native of Galway City and is extremely proud of his roots. He grew up with an astonishing love of his own place. He has an incredible ability and unquenchable appetite for history and culture. It is little wonder that he became such a prominent historian and author in Galway City. He is a graduate of University College Galway (NUIG). He also studied archaeology and was involved in several important finds. In addition, he completed a course in folklore studies to enhance his archaeology and historical knowledge. He is a member of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society and served as secretary and public relations officer for a number of years. He is also a member of the Old Galway Society, the Renmore Military History Society and a former director of Galway Civic Trust.
He has worked closely with various other bodies in having historical projects completed. He has been a guest speaker at numerous events and venues on various historical topics over many years. He has lectured regularly on both local, national and international stage and has been a guest speaker of various organisations in France, England, Scotland and the United States. However, he derives great satisfaction in promoting local history, archaeology and folklore among young people and children. He has been a guest speaker in many schools promoting his native city. He was also involved in a number of television documentaries. During his career, he was the main lecturer for the evening course on local history and archaeology at the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology.
Dr. William Henry has been the recipient of a number of awards, including the Mayoral Award for Heritage, Environment & Conservation for 2007. He was also honoured by the National University of Ireland, Galway with an Honorary Doctorate in 2011. In 2013, he was among five local historians honoured with a Galway City Council Civic reception in recognition for the enormous amount of work he has completed in books, papers and events. He has written over twenty-five historical books, twelve booklets and co-author and contributor in several other books. He has also written many articles and papers which have been published in magazines, journals and newspapers. He is also the former columnist of ‘Talking History’ the weekly historical column published by Galway Independent newspaper. He is editor of St. Patrick’s Magazine.
His work also includes historical tours of Galway and the West of Ireland. Among the groups he works with in this capacity are National Geographic, BEM Ireland and other private tours. He also works for Mercier Press in Cork, considered to be one of the leading publishers in Ireland