BELL, Laura Eliza Jane Seymour (1829?–1894), was the daughter of Robert Bell of Bellbrook, near Glenavy, Co. Antrim, a bailiff for the Hertford estate. In later life she claimed to be a granddaughter of Francis Seymour, 3rd marquess of Hertford, and also that her mother had been rescued from a Spanish convent. She worked in … Read more
The National Photographic Archive’s exhibition Notice to Quit, a unique record of tenant evictions during the Plan of Campaign,1886–90, opened recently at the National Museum of Ireland—Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, and will run until the end of October 2004. The tactics of the Plan of Campaign were outlined in the United … Read more
Northern Ireland’s oldest woods have been a well-kept secret for many years. Remarkably, there has never been a comprehensive record of the country’s ancient woodland, meaning that this rare resource is afforded little or no protection. Now, thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Environment and Heritage Service, the Woodland Trust is … Read more
A unique and historic occasion occurred in Aughavale cemetery near Westport, Co. Mayo, on 7 August 2004. For the first time since the foundation of the state an Irish minister for defence dedicated the grave of an Irish soldier in the British Army, Sergeant-Major Cornelius Coughlan. Cornelius Coughlan was born in June 1828, and … Read more
Seventy-five years ago, on Sunday 24 June 1929, celebrations to mark the centenary of Catholic Emancipation ended in Dublin with a Pontifical High Mass in the Phoenix Park attended by 300,000 people, and a procession to Watling Street Bridge followed by Benediction. According to the newspapers of the time everything went like clockwork, due no … Read more