Historical Background

Between 1844 and 1854, when Patrick and Anne Nolan were born (Bridget’s parents), Ireland was suffering the worst famine ever known in its history, as the potato crop, the staple diet, had failed. This had been caused by a fungal infestation that attacked the roots of the potato, which in turn caused most…

Foreword

This work is a labour of love by the writer Mary Thorpe as a tribute to her much-loved Granny O’Rourke (nee Nolan). It is an attempt to place the stories she heard throughout her life into a true and historical context. As a modern social worker who came across many cases of social deprivation in various social-work…

The oldest harp on which the ‘official’ national emblem of  Ireland is based is housed in the Long Room at Trinity College, Dublin. Two other medieval harps that have also been preserved from that era, are housed in The Museum of Scotland: The Queen Mary Harp 15th century - and the Lamont Harp [date being…

The shamrock is thought by many Irish people globally, to be grown exclusively in Ireland, in Irish…

Who was Molly Malone? . . . That is a very good question, a question that has had many historians baffled, and continues to be debated by experts in this field for many a decade. Stranger than fiction, an inspiration to many millions of people all over the world,…

Alice Milligan (1866-1953) was born into a middle-class Methodist family, one of 11 children. (Some sources would suggest that there were 13 children.) Her father was Seaton Milligan, a writer, poet, antiquary, member of the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), and a businessman. Her…

Nora Connolly was born into a family that knew hardship from birth. The second child of James Connolly and Lillie Connolly (nee Reynolds), she would forge her way through life based on the knowledge and learning that was instilled into her by both of her…

Racing fruitlessly after a tram that was speeding away from him, a young British soldier spotted a shy young woman, out for a stroll in Dublin City, on her day off from working as a governess in Merrion Square. Lillie Reynolds, a softly spoken young woman…

Kathleen Lynn has been described as one of the great Irish humanitarians of the 20th century. Her influence extended throughout Irish society with her work in hospital medicine, her fight against poverty and disease, her career as a politician and…

-The following article will give many facts and details of this extraordinary woman, who, without much formal education, rose to the top of the most higher echelons of power in a Political Institution, in an era when women were supposed to be ‘seen but not heard’..She lived for fifty years after…

Within Bridget’s story, Mary is writing about an era of tough times, and she acknowledges ‘these roots’ as the make-up of her own resilient Irish…

James Connolly said of "Big" Jim Larkin, his colleague in the labour movement: "We have amongst us a man of genius, of splendid vitality, great in his conceptions, magnificent in his courage." George Bernard Shaw described him as "the…

A controversial figure from a very early age in Irish politics and journalism, Arthur Griffith has been noted by some source’s in history, as a man who courted controversy.  While he was a great orator, and not a monarchist himself, he struggled…

William Thomas (Liam) Cosgrave was not one of the iconic figures of the early 1900s, nor indeed was he a man who had any real status of leadership in the 1916 Rising, although he was a chief adviser to Eamonn Ceannt during the 1916 Rising at South Dublin…

The following comment to a recent post of mine, this by Richard R. Mc Gibbon Jr. , had me perplexed for a minute, as I do know that there are…

Robert Erskine Childers {Erskine} 25^th June 1870 – 24 Nov1922 -  was born in Mayfair…

One of the most iconic figures that emerged out of the Easter Rising was Michael Collins. Born in 1890, he was the third son in a family of eight children. Some sources would suggest that the Collins family were part of a very ancient clan who…

When I lost my Mum and my husband within two days of each other, my whole life crumbled around me.  I very slowly learned how to live again, with the help of my then two teenage boys and my grandchildren. Since then, my…

"Our past shapes us and makes us what we are" was a favorite adage of my late grand-mother. To qualify this, she would add, "My tough background gave me strength of character which enable me to cope with what life had in store for me…" For many, our past…

Dr. James Miranda Stuart Barry was born Margaret Ann Bulkley. Her parents were thought to be Jeremiah and Mary-Ann Bulkley. However, there is some speculation about the biological father. Barry's place of birth is usually given as Cork, and Barry's birthday…