George Plant (1904-1942) – IRA Executioner

George Plant (1904-1942) – IRA Executioner

The story of a ruthless IRA assassin of Protestant stock, a man who knew too much about government affairs in the 1930s and early 1940s, and how he was effectively set up for the firing squad. Complete access to all articles on this website for €12 / year...
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) – A Pioneering Feminist in Ireland

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) – A Pioneering Feminist in Ireland

Before she became one of the founding philosophers of feminism, Mary Wollstonecraft was governess to Viscount Kingsborough’s daughters at Mitchelstown Castle in north Cork. While Mary went on to marry  William Godwin (and so became mother to Mary Shelley, author of...
Charles Bianconi (1786-1875) – The Man who put Ireland on Wheels

Charles Bianconi (1786-1875) – The Man who put Ireland on Wheels

‘Earn a shilling a day and live upon sixpence’. That was the motto of a remarkable entrepreneur from Italy whose energy, perseverance, punctuality and good humour made him the transport king of Ireland in the 1820s and 1830s. A friend of Daniel O’Connell, he became...
The Yelvertons, Viscounts Avonmore

The Yelvertons, Viscounts Avonmore

Originating in Norfolk, the Yelvertons rose through the ranks in England to become, at various times, Baron Grey de Ruthyn, Earl of Kent and Earl of Sussex. Another branch moved to Ireland where Viscount Avonmore was a leading legal eagle in the Georgian Age. This...

The Morgan Family – Father Ted’s Forbears

A HISTORY OF THE MORGAN FAMILY – FATHER TED’S FORBEARS A shorter version of this history, written for the Irish Examiner, can be found here. THE KINGDOM OF TETHBAE Like any Irish family worth its salt, the Morgans claim descent from Niall of the Nine Hostages, the...