Nick Maxwell Bridget (Biddy) Early was born in 1798 in the townland of Lower Faha, Co. Clare, the only child of John Thomas Connors and Ellen Early, at a time of bloody revolution. Her family lived in poverty, with her mother making clothes spun from flax grown in the fields nearby. The threat of eviction was ever-present. … Read more
An atlas for Celtic studies: archaeology and names in ancient Europe and early medieval Ireland, Britain, and Brittany John T. Koch (Oxbow Books, £50) ISBN 9781842173091 When Abraham Ortelius published the first modern atlas in the late sixteenth century he included maps of ‘the Celts’ as part of his overall coverage of Europe. He justified … Read more
Sir John Soane’s Museum 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3BP +44 (0)20 7405 2107, jbrock@soane.org.uk, www.soane.org Tues.– Sat. 10.00am–5pm by Tony Canavan Lincoln’s Inn Fields is one of those squares typical of this part of London, in which eighteenth- and nineteenth-century houses surround a green space. Number 13 does not particularly stand out among … Read more
Painstakingly hand-painted on almost three square metres of vellum, the Fitzpatrick manuscript is written in Latin and decorated with ornate depictions of English fruits, flowers, insects and woodland creatures, redolent of Tudor propaganda depicting a providential reign, in harmony with nature, God and the English people. The evolution of the Fitzpatrick dynasty, hereditary lords of … Read more
Designed by the English architect John Nash (1752–1835) for Colonel Charles Vereker, 2nd Viscount Gort, Lough Cutra Castle is located on the banks of Lough Cutra. Nash had many well-known commissions, including the master-plan for the Regency area in London, the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, and the conversion of Buckingham House into Buckingham Palace for King … Read more