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...
Henry of Straffan House & Lodge Park, County Kildare

Henry of Straffan House & Lodge Park, County Kildare

Descended from a Presbyterian minister whose son struck gold in banking and linen, the family lived at Straffan House on the banks of the Liffey during the 18th century, as well as nearby Lodge Park. A high-profile marriage to the Earl of Milltown’s daughter gave them...
Howard of Shelton Abbey – Earls of Wicklow

Howard of Shelton Abbey – Earls of Wicklow

Click here for more tales of County Wicklow.   “Inservi Deo et Laetare” (Serve God and Rejoice)   For close on three hundred years, the Howard family held court at Shelton Abbey, just north of Arklow town in County Wicklow. From the outset they were an unusual clan...