The Halpin Family: Lighthouse Builders, Port Engineers, Pioneers

The Halpin Family: Lighthouse Builders, Port Engineers, Pioneers

A dynasty whose bloodlines interlink across multiple generations from their origins in the Huguenot stronghold of Portarlington, County Laois, to Wicklow, the Dublin Docklands, Meath and the distant lands of the USA and Australia. George Halpin, the ‘Founding Father’...
A Fatal Friendship – Kevin O’Higgins & Rory O’Connor

A Fatal Friendship – Kevin O’Higgins & Rory O’Connor

In 1921, Rory O’Connor stood as best man when his old friend Kevin O'Higgins married Birdie Cole in Dublin. The friendship would be torn apart with the outbreak of the Irish Civil War, during which O'Higgins gave the order for O'Connor to be executed. O'Higgins, the...
A History of Ballyfin House, Co. Laoise, Ireland

A History of Ballyfin House, Co. Laoise, Ireland

As he lay dying in the winter of 1845, William Pole-Wellesley must have reflected upon the many failures of his life. He had certainly never come close to the success of his younger brother, Arthur, the famous ‘Iron Duke’ of Wellington. In fact, William’s most lasting...
Dr Bartholomew Mosse – Founder of the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin

Dr Bartholomew Mosse – Founder of the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin

Dr Bartholomew Mosse was the founder of Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital, the first purpose-built maternity hospital in the world, which opened in 1757. This highly motivated surgeon and man-midwife achieved his ambition through his immense gift for corporate fundraising:...
Wingfield, Viscounts Powerscourt of Co. Wicklow, Ireland

Wingfield, Viscounts Powerscourt of Co. Wicklow, Ireland

Powerscourt House is one of the most famous Georgian houses in Ireland. Built in the 1740s, it was devastated by fire in 1974 but subsequently rebuilt. The estate takes its name from the de la Poer family who built a castle here in Norman times. In 1608, the property...