Ballinascreen Historical Society launches its 51st publication

Very often anniversaries can pass us by unnoticed or, if an event is planned, the dates just don’t work out right.

Not so with Ballinascreen Historical Society’s 51^st publication, published to mark the 60^th anniversary of Geordie Barnett’s death.

“Geordie Barnett’s Botany” was launched on April 12 in The Shepherd’s Rest with a record attendance; this was the exact 60^th anniversary of Barnett’s funeral – he died on April 10 1965.

Within the book there are approximately 50 full colour drawings of plants (May 30 1924 to July 11 1926) and 17 pages of notes (June 29 1946 to September 22 1951). His drawing of the primrose features on the front cover and it was only noticed, a week after publication, that the drawing was done on April 20 1925 exactly 100 years ago on Easter Sunday (April 20 2025).

Within the foreword it is postulated that “if George Barnett were alive today geology clubs and naturalist field clubs would seek him out to lead their field outings, share his knowledge and beg him to become a member” while in the introduction the book is described as “a unique relic of a remarkable local man”.

Each book is individually numbered and signed copies are currently available in Heron’s gift shop (Draperstown) and Sheehy’s (Cookstown), while it can be purchased worldwide from the online bookshop at www.ballinascreenhistoricalsociety/books