Nick Maxwell The monastery of Mount St Joseph at Clondalkin, founded by the brothers of the Third Order of the Discalced Carmelites in 1813, was the first successful monastic foundation in Ireland since the dissolution of religious houses by Henry VIII. It included a free or ‘poor’ school and in 1834 expanded into secondary education. One of … Read more
Until recently, few women were given prominence in the long list of Kilmainham Gaol’s political prisoners. However, after the 1916 Rising seventy-seven women were held prisoner in Kilmainham for their part in the rebellion, and at the height of the Civil War in 1923 over three-hundred women, aged between twelve and seventy, were imprisoned there. … Read more
What was once a soldiers’ chapel in Beggars Bush Barracks, Haddington Road, Dublin 4, is now home to the National Print Museum. The former garrison chapel, built in the mid 1860s, houses artefacts from all sectors of the printing industry. Visitors are first introduced to the ‘father of printing’, Johann Gutenberg, creator of metal type … Read more
The Great Telescope, an amazing feat of engineering and astronomy designed and built by William Parsons, third Earl of Rosse, in the mid nineteenth century, is now fully restored in Birr Castle Demesne and will be the central attraction in Ireland’s Historic Science Centre. Taking as its focal point the genius of one family, the … Read more
Fernhill House is a community museum which explores the history of the Greater Shankill and tells the story of the people from the early nineteenth century to the present day. The museum is primarily concerned with the social and industrial history of the Shankill, the tradition of military service and aspects of cultural identity. The … Read more