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...

Jimmy Bolger the Colaman

Jimmy Bolger the Colaman In a letter to me of March 2007, former Timahoe publican John Headen told me of a carman or coal carrier called Jimmy Bolger who he knew as a young man. The story of his homeward voyage from the pub with his horses is so beautiful that I...