Kilkea Castle – (3) The Wogan Years (1305-1425)

Kilkea Castle – (3) The Wogan Years (1305-1425)

Arising from nowhere, Sir John Wogan became the most influential man in Plantagenet Ireland, for which King Edward II of England gifted him Kilkea Castle and its manor lands in County Kildare. The castle would also be of much interest to the FitzGerald family, now...
The Irishman who built 10 Downing Street

The Irishman who built 10 Downing Street

Described as a 'perfidious rogue' and ‘a most ungrateful villain,' the man who build Downing Street was also a brilliant scholar, a Puritan preacher, a duplicitous spy, a diplomat, an economist and a dastardly politician. Complete access to all articles on this...
Sir Ernest Shackleton – By Endurance, We Conquer

Sir Ernest Shackleton – By Endurance, We Conquer

Listen to the podcast version of this story here. Ernest Shackleton is one of the best-known names in the world of polar exploration. It wasn’t always like that. For a long time, he was a sort of afterthought, a division B ranker after heroes like Scott and Clark...
Commodore John Barry (1745-1803), Father of the American Navy

Commodore John Barry (1745-1803), Father of the American Navy

The Wexford man was the United States’ first commissioned naval officer, as well as its first flag officer. On his watch, the US Navy converted 40 acres of Brooklyn into one of the world's biggest shipyards. It stands next to the oldest park in Brooklyn, renamed...