Rise & Fall: The Maguire Kings of Fermanagh

Rise & Fall: The Maguire Kings of Fermanagh

Fifteen Maguires were crowned as Kings of Fermanagh between 1264 and 1589. The region was, by and large, stable for those three centuries. The Maguires were exceptionally progressive, their households replete with historians, poets and learned men. They were also...
The Choctaw Nation’s Extraordinary Gift to Ireland, 1847

The Choctaw Nation’s Extraordinary Gift to Ireland, 1847

Above: In the summer of 2015, Kindred Spirits, a sculpture by Alex Pentek was unveiled at Bailic Park in Midleton, County Cork, to commemorate the Choctaw Nation and their kindness to the Irish. [1] It stands just across the N25 by-pass from the site of two stone...
Waterways Through Time

Waterways Through Time

‘A most wonderful selection.’ Eanna ni Lamhna Mooney Goes Wild, RTE Radio One   “Upon those who step into the same rivers, different and ever different waters flow down.” Heraclitus   *****   On 21st February 2022, my fiftieth birthday, I launched...
A History of Bishopscourt, Clones, Co. Monaghan

A History of Bishopscourt, Clones, Co. Monaghan

Built as a rectory for the Church of Ireland during the Napoleonic Wars, Bishopscourt was considered such a fine abode that two Bishops of Clogher opted to use it as their main place of residence during the first decades of the 20th century. This tale takes in the...
James Whiteside (1804-1876) – Lord Chief Justice of Ireland

James Whiteside (1804-1876) – Lord Chief Justice of Ireland

James Whiteside was born on 12 August 1804 at Delgany in the north Wicklow Mountains, south of Dublin, where his father William was a Church of Ireland curate at the time. His brother the Rev. John Whiteside was sometime Rector of Ripon. James was educated at Trinity...