It is thought that the remarkable lodge on Mount Pelier Hill was erected c. 1725. The game-rich lands in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains had come into the possession of William Conolly of Castletown House when he purchased Rathfarnham Castle in 1724, and this hilltop with its spectacular views must have seemed an ideal … Read more
Irish lawyer Thomas O’Sullivan wrote this description of a bardic school in a preface to the Marquis of Clanricarde’s memoirs (London, 1722): ‘The students upon thorough examination being first divided into classes, wherein a regard was had to every one’s age, genius, and the schooling had before, if any at all, or otherwise. The professors … Read more
Sir, —As Lar Joye pointed out (HI 18.1, Jan./Feb. 2010), the story ofIrishmen in the Confederate Army is less well known than that of thosewho served with the Union. There is another category of Irishmen whohave received little attention—those who served in regular Union armyor in volunteer regiments that had no connection to the Irish … Read more
The Big House in the North of Ireland: land, power and social elites, 1878–1960 Olwen Purdue (University College Dublin Press, Ä60hb/Ä28pb) ISBN 9781906359218 hb, 9781906359256 pb Singing of the beleaguered stately homes of England, Noel Coward observed: ‘Though the fact that they have to be rebuilt And frequently mortgaged to the hilt Is … Read more
A history of the media in Ireland Christopher Morash (Cambridge University Press, £45) ISBN 9780521843928 The Revd Alexander R. C. Dallas was convinced that the second coming of Christ was due in 1872. Unconvinced that the Catholics of Ireland would appreciate this, in January 1846 he arranged for a simultaneous letter-drop across the country. … Read more