By Fiona Fitzsimons Evidence in family history consists of any source—a document, photo or artefact—with a name (or names), date, place-name or story attached to it. Even the dullest administrative documents can be turned to a genealogical purpose if they contain this base evidence. In 1824 the Ordnance Survey (OS) opened for business in Ireland. … Read more
The late nineteenth-century Orange revival in King’s County (Offaly). By Quincey Dougan In what was named King’s County by Queen Mary during a phase of plantation in 1556, there were five Orange lodges operational in 1798, in the early years of the Orange Institution. While it is highly likely that there were still those within … Read more
On the 150th anniversary of the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1869. By Kenneth Milne ‘The Church of Ireland’, the name by which the Irish province of the Anglican Communion is known, has its roots in the sixteenth-century Reformation, when the Tudor monarchs imposed on the Irish church the Reformation settlement already brought … Read more
Robert Lythe’s maps of Ireland 450 years ago. By Arnold Horner When Robert Lythe arrived at Carrickfergus in late September 1567 he almost certainly did not appreciate that he was on the cusp of a heroic enterprise that would involve him in mapping large parts of Ireland, travelling on horseback and otherwise aided only … Read more
By Daniel Curley The late fourteenth-century composition Leabhar Ua Maine serves as a high-water mark in the fortunes of the O’Kelly kings of Uí Maine. It is a carefully chosen expression of the wealth and authority that these eastern Connacht lords commanded. This ‘great book’ was commissioned by Muircertach O’Kelly, bishop of Clonfert and archbishop of … Read more