Nick Maxwell The story of the Refugee Resettlement Farm, which existed in Millisle, County Down from 1938 to 1948, is one of the little-known ‘secret histories’ of the Second World War in Ireland. To this remote, disused farm on the beautiful Ards peninsula, came, in the late 1930s, Jewish children who escaped on Kindertransports, together with older … Read more
The Channel packet, lifeline of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), left Boulogne early on the morning of 9 January 1918. On board was a small party of Royal Flying Corps (RFC) officers. All four were hung over, battle weary, and badly in need of rest and recuperation. These were veteran fighter—or scout—pilots, blooded in the … Read more
‘Crown jewels’ generally refer to royal ornaments used in the ceremony of consecration, and the formal ensigns of monarchy worn or carried on occasions of state. The term may also be used to describe those collections of rich personal jewellery brought together by various European sovereigns as valuable assets not of their individual estates but … Read more
During the middle of the nineteenth century an eccentric and wealthy young man who happened to like machines and astronomy embellished Ireland’s place in scientific history by building one of the largest and most dangerous telescopes in the world; his name was William Parsons, third Earl of Rosse to Birr Castle, County Offaly. Born on … Read more
Study of the Black Death in Ireland is fraught with difficulties: the few Irish chroniclers and annalists tell us relatively little about it; a further complication was the almost continuous warfare and the consequent economic decline already underway well before the arrival of plague in 1348. Nevertheless, there is enough evidence to suggest that the … Read more