Wall (Du Valle) of County Carlow

Wall (Du Valle) of County Carlow

From the time of the Anglo-Normans through until the end of the seventeenth century, a large swathe of land running east of Carlow town in Ireland was held by the Wall family. Much of this property was subsequently subsumed into the estates of the Bunbury and Burton...
Richard Boyle (1566–1643) – The Great Earl of Cork

Richard Boyle (1566–1643) – The Great Earl of Cork

Without question, Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork,  was the dominant figure on Ireland’s Blackwater Valley for the first forty years of the 17th century.  Indeed, the entrepreneur from Canterbury was one of the most extraordinary and powerful characters in Western...
Huntington Castle – Ghostly Tales & Worthy Fellowships

Huntington Castle – Ghostly Tales & Worthy Fellowships

Huntington Castle has always had an otherworldly ambience. Just over a hundred years ago, a meteorite fell to earth and landed near the avenue. The story takes in Franciscan monks, Tudor bigamists, American pioneers, ghosts a-plenty and a cellar devoted to devoted to...
William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke (1147-1219) – The Greatest Knight

William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke (1147-1219) – The Greatest Knight

William Marshal was the most powerful Anglo-Norman lord to come to Ireland. A jousting champion, die-hard crusader and pre-Machiavellian tactician, he survived the turbulent courts of four Plantagenet Kings to become Regent of England, Lord of Leinster and the richest...
Honest Tom Steele (1788-1848) – Landlord and Repealer

Honest Tom Steele (1788-1848) – Landlord and Repealer

The story of a graduate of Cambridge, a landed proprietor of Clare, an inventor of diving bells and a veteran of the Spanish Republican army who served as Daniel O'Connell's right-hand man for 24 years. Complete access to all articles on this website for €12 / year...