After almost a century, readers of Ulysses are still learning about how and why James Joyce created one of the most complex and provocative Jewish characters in literature. By Vincent Altman O’Connor While Leopold Bloom is the most renowned Irish Jew of all time, it is generally accepted that the character was modelled on Joyce’s … Read more
Murlough, Co. Donegal By Jon Sass Near the summit of Croaghan Hill, Murlough, Co. Donegal, are the remains of possibly the most advanced windmill in Ireland. It was built in 1874 by John Sanderson (1819–1901) of Louth, Lincolnshire, for Charles Robinson (d. 1906), farmer, who leased a farmstead and 118 acres from the earl of … Read more
Richard Lovell Edgeworth, born at Bath, Somerset, in 1744, died at Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford, 200 years ago. By Tony Lyons The Edgeworths settled in Ireland in the mid-1580s during the reign of Elizabeth I, having come from Edgeware near London. Their principal Irish seat was in County Longford. Over subsequent years the family’s fortunes ebbed … Read more
Bushe, Connell and an eighteenth-century Irish population controversy. By David Parker Gervase Parker Bushe was a taxman. It was his job to ensure that you paid your dues to the Board of Revenue, and that, even if you were ‘on the parish’ and entitled to tax-free status, you—or rather your dwelling, the basis of the … Read more
In recent years technology has placed another essential tool within reach of genealogists—DNA testing kits. By Fiona Fitzsimons A person’s ancestry is written in his or her DNA. The evidence can be used to trace deep ancestral origins, especially when researchers have run out of historical documents from which to work. Family historians use three … Read more