2024
April 19-20: Ashford History Festival.
January 17 (Wed, 7:30pm): Turtle to present talk on Rathvilly at the inaugural event of the Rathvilly Heritage Interest group in Lawlor’s pub, Rathvilly.
January 8: Proposed launch of ‘The Centenary of Naas Racecourse’ by Turtle Bunbury.
Turtle hosts the third of his RDS Speaker Series lectures, discussing ‘The Tudor Plantations’ with his former tutor Ciaran Brady, Emeritus Professor of Early Modern History & Historiography at Trinity College Dublin.
Turtle to deliver a talk on ‘Irish Women: Eliza Lynch, Nellie Cashman and Lola Montez’ at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London, following an introduction by Sé Merry Doyle.
Publication of ‘Kilkea Castle – A History.’
2023
Dec 7: Turtle to speak in Enniscorthy.
Nov 28 (Tues): Turtle to deliver Walsh Whiskey talk at St Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny.
Nov 22 (Wed): Turtle to deliver a talk on ‘The Irish Diaspora – Tales of Emigrants, Exile & Empire’ at Clones Library, County Monaghan.
Nov 8: Ally to launch ‘The Love Department’, her fourth novel, at The Oak Room, The Mansion House, Dublin.
Oct 22: Turtle to MC the Decade of Centenaries’ history conference at the Red Line Book Festival. Hosted by South Dublin Libraries in Tallaght Stadium, this will include a talk from David McCullagh on Éamon de Valera’s 1923 while historian Liz Gillis will share “The Story of Noel Lemass: His Life and Death”. Liz will also be in conversation with Niall Quinn about the story of footballer, rebel and politician, Oscar Traynor. Flor McCarthy will tell the deeply personal story of her family’s links on both sides of the War of Independence and Caitriona Crowe will round off the conference with “The Decade of Centenaries: a retrospect”.
Oct 14-15: Lisnavagh Wellness Festival.
Waterways Through Tims is shortlisted for Best Podcast Award at the 2023 Irish Digital Media Awards.
Sept 29: The Digital Media Awards to be held at the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin. ‘Waterways Through Time’ is a Finalist for Best Podcast.
Sept 21: With Storm Nigel petering out in the skies above, Turtle discusses the Night of the Big Wind on The Ray Foley Show (Today FM) with birthday boy Ray Foley and JP Gilbourne.
Sept 18: Turtle delivers the Fisher talk at Ballyvolane House, County Cork.
Sept 17-22: Sasha Sykes attends the ESSEC Masterclass – Homo Faber Fellowship in Lisbon, a partnership between the ESSEC Business School and the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship.
Sept 8: ‘Waterways Through Time’ is selected as a Finalist for Best Podcast at the 2023 Digital Media Awards.
August 23 – Sept 4: Turtle completes his third Circumnavigation of Ireland as a speaker aboard Noble Caledonia’s flagship, MS Island Sky.
August 17: Forbes Magazine profiles Turtle’s book ‘Adare Manor – An Epicurean Journey’: ‘The combination of history, culture, and Irish hospitality gives readers a feel for Ireland’s countryside and customs. Not to mention a serious case of wanderlust.’
August 11-23: Turtle heads off on his second round as guest speaker on a Circumnavigation of Ireland cruise aboard Noble Caledonia’s flagship, MS Island Sky.
July 21: Sasha Sykes and her studio is cover story in the Irish Times Home supplement, here, which refers to her work as ‘a hugely impressive.’
May 24: Merry musings upon procrastination and the new digital stamp by Ally published in the Irish Times, here. Her piece leads to a letter to the Irish Times the next day, here, followed by an interview on RTE’s Drivetime (here) and a Newstalk special.
May 17: The Offaly Independent profiles the new season of Waterways Through Time, here.
May 16: Turtle discusses the new season of the Waterways through Time podcast with Sean Moncrieff on Newstalk.
April 23: Turtle has guest slot in the Sunday Independent‘s ‘My Cultural Life’ section, here, discussing The Last of Us, Wolf Hall, Herbie Brennan and Jemima rapping Eminem.
April 11: Turtle delivers eulogy for Paddy Delaney’s funeral.
April 4: Behind the Guinness Gates profiled by Eoghan O’Sullivan for the Irish Examiner’s Podcast Corner: Taking a sip of the capital’s history, here.
April 1: Launch of ‘Behind the Guinness Gates,’ the Guinness Storehouse launches its first podcast series, produced and narrated by Turtle Bunbury Histories. SheMazing are first off the bat to cover it, here.
March 31: Article on Herbie Brenna, with photo of Herbie, Ally, Lenny and Sebastian, appears in Belfast News-Letter, here. The Daily Star promotes Turtle’s upcoming Guinness podcast to tell ‘fascinating history of the beloved beer.’ (here)
March 17: Turtle presents a talk for Cheltenham Gold Cup Day at Naas Racecourse.
March 16: Turtle presents a talk on ‘What’s in a name? The story os St Columba and the SCC House Names’ at St Columba’s College, Dublin.
March 15: Turtle guest-stars on the podcast ‘Why Would You Tell Me That?’ with Neil Delamere and Dave Moore for an episode entitled ‘The 900-Year-Old ATM!’ about the Knights Templar.
Ally with Herbie Brennan, seated, Sebastian Barry and Lenny Abrahamson, 21 February 2023.
March 14: Turtle’s book ‘Ireland’s Forgotten Past’ described as ‘a fresh and engaging perspective on the country’s rich history’ by Connect Savannah here.
Feb 23: Ally presents a talk at the Carlow Library, providing top tips on how to start – and finish – writing a book, and how to get published.
Feb 21: Ally coordinates launch of Herbie Brennan’s auto-biography, ‘Enchanted Life: The Memoir of a Magician’ with a talk by Sebastian Barry, the only author to win the Costa Book of the Year twice. See Elizabeth Lee’s account in the Carlow Nationalist here.
Kilkenny People, 17 February 2023.
Feb 13: Tom and Annabel Butler beat ‘stiff competition from across the country to win the Tirlán quality Grain Supplier of the Year Award for 2022. The ‘green feed wheat-grower husband-and-wife team’ from Bennettsbridge, County Kilkenny, were the “stand out” over all winners for their diversified farming operation which includes tillage, grassland and woodlands. See here. The news makes the front page of the Kilkenny People. Mark Onions was short-listed in the same contest.
Feb 1: Jilly Cooper gives her verdict on ‘All Wrapped Up’: ‘What a lovely novel. It really lifts the spirits in a hard cold winter and whizzes along at a splendid pace.’
Jan 21: Sasha Sykes exhibits ‘Gorse Weaponry’ in Arthur Duff’s show ‘Roopantar – Transformation’ at 47-A: Design Gallery, Girgaum, Mumbai.
Jan 1: An article on the Gough family is the cover story of Britain at War, the UK’s best-selling military history magazine.
2022
Dec 26: ‘Born in Meath, Made in Hollywood,’ a one-hour radio documentary by Little Road Productions Ltd (Sarah McCann) airs on LMFM. Focusing on the Moore Brothers on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it features Turtle as a talking head. The Dundalk Democrat ran a feature on the show here.
Dec 17: Eliz Lee’s profile of Ally and her book ‘All Wrapped Up’ features in the Carlow Nationalist in an article entitled ‘Ally’s Latest Novel is a Real Christmas Cracker,’ declaring it ‘an entertaining, feelgood page-turner … a big, snuggly hug that’s perfect for reading by the fire as the weather freezes outside your window.’
Dec 16: The Echo zeroes in on Turtle’s new Corkagh podcast series, here.
Dec 15: Carloviana 2022 features Turtle’s story on Dr Myddelton and the destruction of Carlow Castle, see here.
Dec 11: Turtle tells the tale of Captain Halpin and the Atlantic Cable in episode 3 of season 2 of ‘Great Lighthouses of Ireland.’ (RTÉ One, repeat).
Dec 7: Ally talks of Christmas miracles in a heatwave with Marty Whelan on Marty in the Morning on Lyric FM; it’s in the final 15 minutes here.
Dec 4: Turtle tells tale of Francis Beaufort in second episode of season 2 of ‘Great Lighthouses of Ireland’ (RTÉ One, repeat).
Dec 2: Patricia Killeen of Irish Central applauds Ally’s ‘All Wrapped Up’ as ‘unputdownable …. hilarious and heartwarming’ in a magnificent review here, describing Ally and her husband as ‘a refreshing mixture of success, intelligence, and fun with a tendency to regard their glamorous lives as being quite ordinary.’ Egads!
Dec 1: Ally Bunbury, the quizmaster, features in The Gloss, alongside Coibhe Butler, Amelia Raben, Alex Slane and others; Turtle’s Corkagh podcast launch is profiled in the Dublin People; the Sykes return from Ecuador.
The Corkagh Podcast, launched in November 2022.
Nov 28: Councillor William Carey of South Dublin County Council launches Turtle’s new Corkagh History Podcast series at Clondalkin Library. (Listen here)
Nov 27: Gilly Fogg and Cece Bell win BAFTA Content For Change for ‘El Deafo’; Turtle tells tale of George Halpin in opening episode of season 2 of ‘Great Lighthouses of Ireland’ (RTÉ One, repeat).
Nov 19: Sue Leonard’s interview with Ally about her new Christmas novel, Joan Collins and grieving her father appears in the Irish Examiner. See here. Sue hails ‘All Wrapped Up’ as a ‘joyously exuberant’ book that sees Ally ‘at the top of her game.’ Áine Toner’s review in the Belfast Telegraph applauds it as ‘a great read that’s very well written.’
Nov 10: National treasure Anne Doyle launches Ally Bunbury’s third novel, ‘All Wrapped Up’ to a full house at The Little Museum of Dublin on St Stephen’s Green, with Bertha’s Revenge Gin on offer for all.
Nov 9: Ally smashes it in an interview with The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk. Pat, an enthusiast for Lady Serena and champion of Giles, calls it ‘the perfect Christmas read.’
Nov 6: Ally’s ‘My Life in Books’ is featured in the Sunday Independent.
Nov 5: Turtle joins Sean Connolly, professor of Irish History (Emeritus) at Queen’s University Belfast, in conversation with Susan McKay at Belfast International Arts Festival to discuss the legacy of generations who left the island of Ireland to make new lives in a new world. The event took place at the Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich, 216 Falls Road, Belfast.
Ally Bunbury discussing her new book ‘All Wrapped Up’ on the Six O’Clock Show (Virgin Media One, Episode 209), 2 November 2022. Watch here.
Nov 3: Turtle’s article on Winston Churchill’s visit to Adare Manor is published by Irish Central (here).
Nov 2: Ally discusses her new book ‘All Wrapped Up’ on the Six O’Clock Show with Martin King and Fionnuala Jones on (Virgin Media One, Episode 209). Hugh Bonneville and Conor Pope are her fellow guests.
October 28: Diaspora Digital News profiles Turtle and hails ‘The Irish Diaspora’ as a ‘must’ for any library – ‘a journey of discovery crafted in the most simple and easy way to grasp.’ See here.
October 24: Irish Central hails ‘The Irish Diaspora’ as ‘the Diaspora’s bible’ – ‘it makes for easy, enjoyable, informative reading and can be read cover to cover or zoning in on characters that particularly interest you.’ See here.
October 23: Turtle presents a talk on ‘The Irish Diaspora: The French Connection’ at Cercle Littéraire Irlandais October Gathering, Paris, along with Neil Hegarty, Nora Hickey, Ru Freeman, Patricia Killeen and songs by Maureen O’Donoghue.
October 17: Turtle delivers lunchtime speech on ‘The Irish Diaspora: Chicago Connections’ for the Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago at the Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson Blvd, Chicago.
Extract from Skyline (Chicago).
October 16-17: Lisnavagh Wellness Festival makes its debut in County Carlow.
October 15: Turtle presents after-dinner speech for the Irish Georgian Society dinner at The Casino, 195 East Delaware Place, Chicago, looking at Kingston Mines, Lady Sarah Bunbury, Eddie Colley and Elizabeth Bowen.
October 13: Turtle presents after-dinner speech for the Irish Georgian Society dinner at the University Club, 1 West 54th Street, New York, looking at Governor Dongan, the Colley family, Elizabeth Bowen and Doneraile.
Oct 12: ‘TURTLE TIME: The Irish Georgian Society [IGS] and the Irish Fellowship Club will both have events featuring the polished tones of Turtle Bunbury, one of Ireland’s most delightful writers and architectural social commentators. On Saturday, Oct. 15, Turtle will speak on Irish Gardens at the IGS dinner at the Casino. On Monday, Oct. 17, he will speak at the IGS luncheon about his latest book, “The Irish Diaspora, Tales of Emigration, Exile and Imperialism,” at the Union League Club at 11:30 a.m. His latest is a must and is dedicated to legendary Chicagoan Rose Marie O’Neill.’ (Thomas O’Gorman, Skyline, Chicago, Vo. 118, No. 41).
Sept 15: Turtle presents the opening talk at the MGI UK and Ireland Conference in the Tanners Suite of the Hyatt Centric Hotel in Dublin.
Sept 11: Turtle attends Choral Evensong service at St Colman’s Church, Farahy, County Cork, a thanksgiving for the life of Elizabeth Bowen. The service was sung by the Clerks Choral. The Rev Dr Robert McCarthy presided and the address was given by Dr Martin Mansergh.
Sept 3: Turtle’s account of visiting Languedoc, Carcasonne and the Canal du Midi is published in the Irish Daily Mail.
August 1-15: Turtle delivers the history of Ireland in four parts as the guest speaker on a 14-day Circumnavigation of Ireland on board Noble Caledonia’s flagship, MS Island Sky.
August 1: Publication of ‘Princes and Poets,’ a history of Gregan Castle in County Clare, written by Turtle and designed by John Power.
July 26: Turtle delivers a talk at Altamont Gardens on “Altamont – The Creation of an Irish Garden as part of the Carlow Garden Festival. He charts the story of Altamont through the centuries from its reputed beginnings as a riverside retreat for nuns through the development of the house and gardens under the families who lived there between the 18th and 20th centuries – Doyne, St George, Borrer, K’Eogh, Lecky-Watson and North.
July 25: Turtle delivers a talk on Dublin-born composer John Field to the Arts Society in London, after which he is made an Accredited Lecturer of the Arts Society.
June 25: Turtle gives a talk at the Hinterland Festival 2022 in The Courthouse, Kells, County Meath, homing in on ‘The Irish Diaspora: Tales of Emigration, Exile and Imperialism.’
June 19: Turtle delivers the 8:30am Sunday Breakfast talk on ‘Munster Women: Eliza Lynch, Nellie Cashman and Lola Montez’ at the Immrama Festival Of Travel Writing in Lismore, County Waterford.
June 10-12: The 10th Borris House Festival of Writing & Ideas, County Carlow – another triumph.
June: Gilly Fogg and Kilkenny-based animation studio Lighthouse Studios wins the Power of Sound award for their mini-series ‘El Deafo’ at the Prix Jeunesse Festival in Munich.
May 22: Turtle tells the tale of Captain Halpin and the Atlantic Cable in episode 3 of season 2 of ‘Great Lighthouses of Ireland’, which airs on RTÉ One (here).
May 21: Turtle delivers speech at ‘Emigrants and Exiles, the East Galway Story’ conference, entitled ‘Children of the Hunger – The Irish Diaspora.’
May 17: Turtle discusses the ‘Past Tracks’ panel with Sue Nunn on ‘The Way It Is’ on KCLR (here).
May 15: Turtle tells tale of Francis Beaufort in second episode of season 2 of ‘Great Lighthouses of Ireland’ (RTÉ One).
May 13: Turtle presents ‘The O’Leary’s and the Cavanaughs’ at the Merrion Hotel, Dublin.
May 8: Turtle tells tale of George Halpin in opening episode of season 2 of ‘Great Lighthouses of Ireland’ (RTÉ One).
May 3: Turtle speaks to the Enniscorthy Retirement Association on Wexford’s overseas influences, including the Savannah Irish, Lord Baltimore, Daniel Robertson and the defenders of the Alamo.
April 30: Ally Bunbury guest stars on the Brendan O’Connor Show (RTE Radio One) and talks of things to do at Big Houses over the May bank holiday weekend. (Listen here.)
April 27: Turtle speed-dates Lola Montez for PechaKucha Night at D-Light Studios in Dublin.
April 15: Global Irish Episode 5 investigates the Irish roots of Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle.
April 14: Turtle reads the story of Statia Kealy for the European Book Slam on Clubhouse.
April 8-9: Turtle joins Dr Myles Dungan and Dr David McCullagh for the History Weekend at Ashford Castle, Cong, County Galway. His talk offers a long-term perspective on the road to Irish independence. Ashford Castle is named the best resort hotel in Ireland and the UK by Travel + Leisure magazine three months later. The hotel won the same accolade in 2020.
April 8: Turtle Bunbury’s Global Irish, Episode 5, is published, starring Lola Montez.
Turtle with Bernard Walsh announcing The Irishman whiskey’s sponsorship of Turtle Bunbury’s Global Irish podcast series at Lisnavagh House, Rathvilly, County Carlow.
Turtle with his Past Tracks panels in Carlow railway station, April 2022, with Irish Rail’s Jen Reilly and illustrator Derry Dillon. Photo: Thomas Sunderland.
April 8: Turtle hosts the second of his RDS Speaker Series lectures, discussing “The Burning the Big House: The Country House in War and Revolution, 1914-1923” with Professor Terence Dooley, director of the Centre for the Study of Historic Irish Houses and Estates at Maynooth University in County Kildare.
April 6: Turtle and Bernard Walsh, creator of The Irishman whiskeys, host a Facebook Live Event at Lisnavagh House, County Carlow, discussing historic characters from the Irish diaspora while sampling some whiskey.
April 5: Turtle joins Jen Reilly of Irish Rail, illustrator Derry Dillon and photographer Thomas Sunderland for launch of Past Tracks II at Carlow railway station. 50 history panels have now been unveiled at 50 Irish Rail stations across Ireland. Each panel is written and researched by Turtle, illustrated by Derry and translated into Irish by Jack O’Driscoll. The launch was profiled by Eliz Lee in the Carlow Nationalist here and Carlow Live here.
April 3: Proinsias O Rathaille gives a fine account of the Past Tracks project and the Dromod panel (on which his mother Bridie Clyne features) to Kevin Mc Gillacuddy on Shannonside. The panel also scores a full-page feature in the Leitrim Observer.
April 1: Global Irish Episode 4 is published, starring The Incredible Mr Kavanagh. On the same day, the podcast series is profiled by Irish-American News in Chicago.
March 29: Turtle is a guest on The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk discussing some of the characters he will be talking about at Ashford Castle on April 9. Listen here.
March 25: Global Irish Episode 3 is published, starring Nellie Cashman.
March 22: Whisky Magazine profiles Turtle, The Irishman and the Global irish podcast. (See here)
March 14: Turtle is one of the talking heads in the second series of ‘The Way We Were’ (Episode 4: The Way We Played).
March 19: Turtle tells the tale of Billy Grace for ‘Emigrant Entrepreneurs’, a short feature by Siofra Mulqueen that airs on on ‘The Business’ on RTÉ Radio One (here) in the same week that Ireland win the Triple Crown and Henry de Bromhead scoops his second Cheltenham Gold Cup.
March 18: Global Irish Episode 2 is published, starring the explorer Ernest Shackleton.
March 14: Turtle is one of the talking heads in the second series of ‘The Way We Were’ (Episode 3: The Way We Were At Home).
Waterways Through Time’, a podcast series by Turtle, launched on his 50th birthday.
March 14: Launch of ‘Global Irish’, a new podcast series by Turtle, in collaboration with The Irishman whiskey. The series is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Episode One tells the story of Hercules Mulligan, the New York tailor who saved George Washingtons life, twice. The launch is profiled in the Carlow Nationalist (here) and Checkout Magazine (here).
March 10: ‘The extraordinary links between Ireland and Ukraine’ is published in The Irish Times, a feature by Ally Bunbury, interviewing Daria Blackwell, about the arrival in Mayo of Christina and Ihor Sodomora with their three boys following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. See here.
March 8: Turtle and Myles Dungan join Sean Rocks on Arena on RTÉ Radio One here at 28 mins in.
March 5: Lisnavagh Events wins Best Tourism Website at County Carlow Web Awards.
March 4: Turtle’s Maxol book profiled on ‘That Great Business Show’ (Episode 77), co-hosted by Conall O Móráin Vincent Wall, former Business Editor with Newstalk, with Brian Donaldson, Maxol CEO. Listen here.
March 3: Turtle discusses the new waterways podcast with Breandan O’Scanaill on ‘Great Outdoors’ (Connemara Community Radio), including the Cong Canal.
March 1: History Ireland magazine gives a glowing review of Barrie Dowdall’s film, ‘Violet Gibson’, describing it as ‘masterful.’
Feb 28: Turtle discusses ‘Waterways Through Time’ on ‘Mooney Goes Wild’ (RTÉ Radio One) with Éanna Ní Lamhna, Derek Mooney and Richard Collins. Part of the interview also featured on Sinéad Mooney’s Playback later in the week.
Feb 24: Turtle discusses ‘Waterways Through Time’ on KCLR Live with Eimear Ní Bhraonáin, here, homing in on the Barrow Valley.
Feb 22-26: Sasha Sykes is one of twelve Irish artists on Design & Crafts Council Ireland’s Portfolio Critical Selection 2021–22. As such, she exhibits ‘Red Obelisk’ at Somerset House, London, as part of ‘Collect’, the leading international fair for contemporary craft and design.
El Deafo on the cover of The Week Junior. The series was directed by Gilly Fogg.
Tom Crampton on the Nasdaq Building as GreenLight BioScience rings the bell.
Detail from Red Obelisk by Sasha Sykes.
Feb 21: On Turtle’s 50th birthday, the first Waterways Ireland podcast series is launched. Researched and written by Turtle, ‘Waterways Through Time‘ earns high praise from the Waterways Ireland CEO, John McDonagh, who hails Turtle’s ‘outstanding narration.’ The series is profiled by ‘Afloat’ here.
Feb 15: Tom Sykes story breaks on Daily Beast: ‘Epstein Victim Lost Her Famous Photo of Prince Andrew.’
Feb 12: Ally Bunbury scores cover story in the Irish Times Magazine with ‘Lessons in Love from Old Romantics,’ based on her interview with a series of older men and women about what’s truly important in a relationship.
Feb 10: Turtle is one of the guest readers on Thornwillow’s Bloomsyear Centennial Reading of James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ (Episode 5 – The Lotus Eaters), alongside Salman Rushdie, Michael Schwarz and Aedin Moloney. Listen here.
Feb 8: Greenlight Biosciences [GRNA] Rings the Nasdaq Closing Bell; Tom Crampton, its SVP & Head of Corporate Affairs, appears on the Nasdaq building, Times Square, New York, as the company is publicly listed.
Jan 31: William Bunbury’s timber business profiled on KCLR in a 20-minute special.
Jan 21: El Deafo makes the cover of The Week Junior. The three-episode adaptation of the memoir by Cece Bell was directed by Gilly Fogg. The New York Times called it ‘terrific’ while The Guardian hailed it as one of the week’s picks, calling it ‘sweet, funny [and] poignant.’
Jan 22: Turtle presents online talks on ‘The Irish Diaspora’ and ‘Vanishing Ireland’ to Diploma in Genealogy class at University College Cork.
Jan 21: The new audio version of ‘Ireland’s Forgotten Past’ (also now in paperback) is clocked as No. 2 on the Irish History bestsellers’ page of Amazon.
Jan 19: Turtle presents ‘The Irish Diaspora’ to the Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany, New York. (See below)
Jan 3: Lochlann Ó Mearáin’s new series ‘Droichid Na hÉireann’ (The Bridges of Ireland) debuts on RTE One. In the first episode, Turtle talks him through the colourful history of Dublin’s Ha’penny Bridge.
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To see the past events, appearances and publications from Turtle’s career prior to 2022, click here.