Nick Maxwell THE SINGLE GREATEST ACT OF VANDALISM OF THE IRISH WAR OF INDEPENDENCE By Pat Poland On 21 January 1919 the first Dáil was convened in the Mansion House in Dublin and the independence of the Irish Republic was declared; later the same day, the opening shots in, avant la lettre, the Irish War of Independence … Read more
In 1920 the Cork Fire and Ambulance Brigade had been in existence for 43 years, having been established as a municipal entity in 1877, and had been commanded since 1891 by Capt. Hutson. Operating out of the Central Fire Station on Sullivan’s Quay (on the south channel of the River Lee), and substations at Grattan … Read more
Estate records as a source for family history By Fiona Fitzsimons In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries c. 95% of productive land in Ireland was in estate ownership. The number of families that owned these estates was tiny. They derived great authority and wealth through their monopoly on landownership. Every estate was organised and … Read more
WILLIAM FERGUSON MASSEY, OR ‘FARMER BILL’ AS HE WAS KNOWN IN HIS ADOPTED COUNTRY, IS ARGUABLY LIMAVADY’S MOST FAMOUS SON. HE WAS PRIME MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND DURING TURBULENT TIMES, MOST NOTABLY DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR, FROM 1912 UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1925. HE IS NEW ZEALAND’S SECOND-LONGEST SERVING PRIME MINISTER. By Aaron Callan … Read more
Born on 26 March 1856, the son of John Massey, a Limavady farmer who left for better fortunes in New Zealand in 1862, William remained behind with relatives to complete his education. Eight years later, aged fourteen, he joined his parents in New Zealand. A contemporary described Massey as ‘bluff and hearty, thick set, and … Read more