In 1761 the merchants of Dublin formed themselves into a society for the purpose of ‘the defence of trade against any illegal imposition and the solicitation of such laws as might seem beneficial to it’. Seven years later in 1768, the society advertised an architectural competition for the design of a new exchange building to … Read more
At the end of May 2000 the Jeanie Johnston, a full size sailing replica of the famous Irish emigrant ship, sets sail from Fenit, County Kerry. It took two and a half years to build at a specially constructed shipyard in Blennerville, Tralee, at a cost of £5.5 million and will visit over twenty cities … Read more
Seven Ages was one of the most ambitious television history projects ever undertaken in Ireland—ambitious not just in terms of its length, but also in its subject matter. The series offered itself as an authoritative interpretation of the history of the modern Irish state since 1920 to the present. Each decade was dealt with by … 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