By Felix Meehan Daniel MacCarthy was born to a wealthy Catholic merchant family in London in 1807. His grandfather had emigrated from Dromdeegy near Dunmanway, Co. Cork, to London in 1763. Daniel was the author of several works of fiction, including the historical romances The siege of Florence (1840), Massaniello (1842) and The free lance … Read more
By Claire Hyland In the Tipperary County Archives, Clonmel, there is an archival record that reveals the dark and murky underworld of crime and punishment in late 1870s Clonmel. In the early 1860s Clonmel became a garrison town with a large military barracks. This was a momentous change in the demography, society and criminal elements … Read more
By Clare Ryan The Clayton Woollen Mill Collection, housed in the Meath County Archive, preserves over a century of records (1888–1969) and offers a rare, documentary view of one of Ireland’s most significant textile enterprises. The Clayton Woollen Mill, on the banks of the River Blackwater in Navan, operated from 1867 to 1968 and became … Read more
By Joanne Rothwell The workhouse schoolmistress was tasked with instructing the children, taking them out for exercise and ensuring their discipline and moral character. She was subject to inspection by the Board of Guardians and the National Board of Education. In their advertisement for an infant schoolmistress in the Waterford News and Star on 19 … Read more
By Ciara Fahy The Forster and Kelly family papers, preserved in Clare County Archives, document more than three centuries of Irish history. They include leases, wills, correspondence and estate accounts, but it is the rent books and ledgers that most clearly show the everyday running of estates in north Clare and the gradual decline of … Read more