In the 1560s, Queen Elizabeth I began to see the value in becoming familiar with the Irish language.  The Queen was already well versed in the French, Italian, Latin and Greek languages.  There can be little doubt that her interest in the Irish language was brought on by her desire…

Ireland in the 1650s lay in ruins. Twelve years of calamitous warfare had destroyed the country's infrastructure and resulted in the death of over 20% of the Irish population.

In August 1649 the New Model Army, led by Oliver Cromwell, went to Ireland to re-occupy the country following the Irish Rebellion of…

If your mind is anything like mine, you have wondered and imagined what important historical figures may have looked like in the flesh. Before the photograph came into play -- and even centuries before its forerunner, the Daguerrotype, came on the scene -- men and women of high status and important positions were posed for portraits by the best painters of their own days.…

April 23, 2014 will mark the 1,000th anniversary of the Battle of Clontarf. The battle was fought between the forces of Brian Boru and the forces led by the King of Leinster, Máel Mórda mac Murchada: composed mainly of his own men, Viking mercenaries from Dublin and the…

I recently came across the lovely and nostalgic promotional poster from Ireland's Midland Great Western Railway shown above.  Although I live one of the areas formerly served by this grand old railroad, I didn't know much about the history thereof.  I've shared the information…

The Desmond Fitzgerald Photographs, a stunning collection of 179 photos is now available to view on the University College Dublin Digital Library website.  This collection of photographic prints forms part of the papers of Desmond FitzGerald. The majority of these photographs arise out of the…

On New Year's Eve of 1602, Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare (Domhnall Cam Ó Súilleabháin Bhéara), Chieftain of the great O'Sullivan clan of west Cork and 1,000 others from the area over which he ruled set out on one of the most harrowing and brutal treks in the history of Ireland.  Of…

Lebor na gCeart, the "Book of Rights", details the rents and taxes paid by the King of Cashel to various others in Ireland.  The original manuscripts date to the 11th or 12th century, and it contains a treasure trove of references to the customs and practices of Irish nobility in the Middle Ages.  This collection of manuscripts was…

The Doegen Records Web Project (Tionscadal Gréasáin Cheirníní Doegen) has made available a treasure trove of audio recordings from the 17 counties of Ireland, mostly concentrated in the northwest.  This multi-media archive is a project of the Royal Irish Academy Library in collaboration with the Digital Humanities Observatory, and…

Check out this absolutely brilliant history of Ireland in six minutes created by Wild Geese member …

The image above on the left is a detail from Richard Bartlett's A.D. 1602 map of Ulster showing the inauguration of the O'Neill chief/king at Tullyhogue, County Tyrone. Bartlett has been called, "…

Galway City has historically been among the "most Irish" of all Irish towns/cities -- some would even argue that it would top that list.  For evidence of this, one need look no further than Galway's unofficial slogan, Croí Cultúrtha na hÉireann,…