JMcC: Tell us about your background. ED: I was born in Dundalk in 1947. My father worked as a boilermaker for Great Northern Railways. When the railway works closed down we moved to Birmingham. One of the things that has struck me over the last ten years is how much I live out of those … Read more
HM: Is it true that you are descended from Revd. George Walker of Siege of Derry fame? BW: I am a co-lateral descendant—descended from a brother of his. My family had only vague ideas about the link but recently an uncle traced the connection. HM: What about more recent family history? BW: My father came … Read more
The history of private libraries in Ireland in the twentieth century tends to be a sad chronicle of loss and destruction; either by fires in turbulent times or, the auctioneer’s hammer in times of economic hardship. An exception was the unexpected arrival in 1950 of the American mining millionaire, Alfred Chester Beatty (1875-1968) and his … Read more
This story belongs to the Belfast of fifty years ago. It is an exemplary tale which illuminates the bitterness and violence that has been Ulster’s fate since 1969. The topography of the area to which the story belongs provides a perfect image of Ulster life in the 1940s. Duncairn Gardens in the north-east of Belfast … Read more
The annual three-day Spring Festival meeting at Punchestown is a major event in the Irish racing calendar, while the venue itself is considered to be one of the world’s finest national hunt racecources. Over the last century and a half it has developed a unique atmosphere, and for the people of Kildare it is … Read more