Nick Maxwell By Corinne Herward Sligo’s archive holds many records that chart the evolution of governance in the county both before and after independence. One of the most important administrative duties in a county with a mountainous and riverine landscape is the construction and maintenance of bridges. Although no formal survey has been undertaken in Sligo, the … Read more
By Fiona Fitzsimons The evidence we use in family history is not limited to archival records. We also use the evidence in our genes; the material culture around us (artefacts, gravestones, and photographs to name just a few); and in the family stories passed down. One source often overlooked by family historians, but which draws … Read more
By Deborah White It was an anxious wait for Mr Duigenan, Keeper of Irish Antiquities at the National Museum of Ireland. After protracted negotiation the star artefact of his upcoming ‘Special Folklore Exhibition’ was making its way to Dublin from Lurgan, Co. Armagh, strapped to the bed of a twenty-horsepower lorry. Prior arrangement with the … Read more
Ballinakill, Co. Laois By Damian Murphy The origins of Heywood Gardens date back to the late eighteenth century when Michael Frederick Trench (1746–1836), having designed and built a neo-Classical villa (1789), with a guiding hand from James Gandon (1743–1823), set about reshaping the surrounding 250-acre estate as an ideal landscape. It was achieved by digging … Read more
By Mícheál Ó Fathartaigh Over the past few months, the Irish minister for agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, has suggested on several occasions that Irish farmers could and should be growing more crops. Theoretically, he is right. Securing sustainable food supplies for the population has never been more important. Since the mid-twentieth century, Irish agriculture has gradually … Read more