Edward Lear

THERE WAS AN OLD MAN CALLED EDWARD By Turtle Bunbury As he plunged his quill into the inkpot, Edward Lear exhaled contentedly. It might have taken him the best part of fifty years to complete the trip, but the best-selling English nonsense poet had finally made it to...
Daniel O’Connell (1775-1847) – The Liberator

Daniel O’Connell (1775-1847) – The Liberator

An overview of one of the most towering figures in Irish history, a pioneer of pacifism through his monster meetings, and winner of emancipation for the top level of Catholics in Irish society. This story commences with his role in a deadly duel, a fatal event that...
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...

A Scandalous Affair – Princess Penelope of Capua (1815–1882)

A SCANDALOUS AFFAIR – PRINCESS PENELOPE (1815 – 1882) NB: For more on Miss Penelope Smith’s family, see sections on Smyth of Ballynatray, Ponsonby of Kilcooley Abbey and the Earls Mouncashell. The author of the 1853 Tourists Illustrated Handbook for Ireland advised...