Commemoration day for Mary Leadbeater

Ballitore will mark the 200th anniversary of the death of writer Mary Leadbeater on 27 June 2026 with a commemorative afternoon of heritage, literature and art, writes Brian Byrne. Events begin at 1pm with the unveiling of new signage at the entrance to the Quaker Burial Ground in partnership with the Ballitore Burial Ground Restoration Group. 

At 2pm, a revised edition of Leadbeater's most famous work, The Annals of Ballitore, will be launched by John McKenna at Mary Leadbeater House, now Ballitore Library. The programme continues at 3pm in the Meeting House with Reflections on the Life of Mary Leadbeater through Contemporary Art and Craft, an exhibition hosted by The Thread Shed.

Afternoon tea will be served, guests are encouraged to wear vintage dress, and donations will be welcomed towards the upkeep of the Meeting House.

Born Mary Shackleton in Ballitore in 1758, Leadbeater was a Quaker poet, correspondent and chronicler of local life whose works included Poems, Cottage Dialogues among the Irish Peasantry and Cottage Biography. 

Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy