By Fiona Fitzsimons In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries some Huguenots fled the religious wars in France and settled in England and Ireland. As a group they had diverse social origins, and they assimilated into Irish society at every level, not only as artisans and businessmen. They were military pensioners, linen- and silk-weavers, silver- and … Read more
Images of the Irish in a revolutionary painting. By Royston Spears Between 1815 and 1845 perhaps half a million men and women left Ireland to escape economic hardship and famine, and crossed to Britain in search of work. There many of them began new lives as navvies, farm labourers and street traders. For much of … Read more
Rathdowney, Co. Laois www.donaghmoremuseum.ie By Tony Canavan Situated between the M7 and M8, near the town of Rathdowney, the Donaghmore Workhouse and Agricultural Museum is worth leaving the motorway for if you want to break your journey. This complex of buildings has survived almost intact since the mid-nineteenth century despite undergoing a number of changes … Read more
The First World War correspondence of Michael Bourke, Garvey’s Lane, Limerick. By Tadhg Moloney During the First World War, letters allowed soldiers in training or at the front to keep in touch with home. Michael Bourke of Garvey’s Lane, Limerick, wrote at least 36 letters to his sister Mary over the nine months from 2 … Read more
Westtown, Co. Waterford By Brendan Wright Tragedy at sea in the early nineteenth century brought about a defining feature of the County Waterford coastline. On the morning of 30 January 1816, HMS Sea Horse, carrying members of the 2nd Battalion, 59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot, hit a storm as she sailed from Ramsgate … Read more