The Big House TV3, April/May 2013 Big Mountain Productions by Adrian Grant The story of the ‘big house’ and the landed estates is essentially the story of rural Ireland. Every aspect of life was affected by the fortunes of the landed class and their vast estates. Whether you were a domestic servant, a tradesman, a … Read more
Genealogy is a branch of history and worthy of proper study, although this is still disputed by a majority of academic historians. Their opposition is twofold: the restricted questions that family historians ask of their source material, and the narrow focus on the individual family that is the subject of enquiry. Both have been used … Read more
Following the First World War, the perceived inadequacies of the peace settlement were a major contributing factor to political turmoil in Italy. Coining the phrase ‘mutilated victory’, the acclaimed poet, politician and soldier Gabriele D’Annunzio (1863–1938) emerged as the high priest of Italian irredentism. Acting on his grievances, he formed a private army, which in … Read more
The first monument erected by the National Graves Association was over the graves of rank-and-file Easter Week Volunteers in Glasnevin Cemetery. It was unveiled by Frank Ryan on 31 March 1929. Over the years the monument began to show signs of wear and tear, so on the 50th anniversary of the Rising the association, at … Read more
Walter Stanley Paget was a painter and illustrator who was born in London in 1863 and died in 1935. As a painter he exhibited six times with the Royal Academy, though he seems to have been more successful as an illustrator; he was commissioned to produce drawings for books by both Sir Walter Scott and … Read more