Tag: Local History
The Curse of the Cliffs
MICHAEL VAN TURNHOUT is the husband of the founder and MD of Genealogy.ie, Jillian van Turnhout. He has written a number of articles about Genealogy and Local History, which were published in both Irish and North American magazines. You can download these on our website. Recently he also tried his hand at a fictional novella, but with a base in real Irish history and set in a real Irish village.
This fictional novella offers crime, Irish history, romance, and Irish folklore. Set in Ireland in 1935, it tells the story of a young woman, Sally, who falls in love and gets married. The newlyweds are ready to start their new lives on a farm called “The Cliffs”, as it is situated on a cliff edge on the Irish river Funshion.
The farm and river are surrounded by history: there are the remains of a castle, a ruined church, an obelisk and it is near an old mill-town. All feature in the book as a background to its story. And all – from farm to town – exist in reality.
But not all is good. Warned of a curse, stories of the past come to haunt Sally. She learns about the gruesome history of the farm, throughout Irish history. But even in the present, all is not what it seems. Is the farm cursed? And why? Is Sally in danger? Or is she just imagining things because she recently lost both her parents? Helped by farmhand Stephen Sally discovers the truth.
Available for your Kindle for only £3.86 (just over €4 or just under $5) from Amazon. Click below to go to their store.
Our visit to Patrick Pearse School – Pearse Museum
Edward Hudson, a State Dentist, built ‘The Hermitage’ in 1786. Over a century later, Patrick Pearse discovered the house while on a historical pilgrimage of sites associated with Robert Emmet. Set in nearly fifty acres of beautiful parkland, Pearse moved his innovative school into it in 1910. His family gave it later to the Irish state, who turned it into a museum, telling the story of Patrick Pearse. The Office of Public Works operates and manages Pearse Museum and St Enda’s Park.
Have a look at our video giving an impression of the museum. Below the video is some information on the life of Patrick Pearse.
PATRICK PEARSE
Patrick Pearse was born at 27 Great Brunswick Street in Dublin, the street that is named after him today. His father, James Pearse, established a stonemasonry business here in the 1850’s. The business provided the Pearses with a comfortable middle-class life.
In 1900, Pearse received a B.A. in Modern Languages (Irish, English and French). He immediately enrolled in the King’s Inns and was called to the bar in 1901.
Before then, in 1896, only 16 years old, he had joined the Gaelic League. Subsequently, in 1903 Pearse became editor of its newspaper. He wanted to help save the Irish language. To do this, he wanted to establish a sympathetic education system. Therefore, to set an example, Pearse started his own bilingual school, Saint Enda (Scoil Éanna). Teaching was in both English and Irish. In 1908 it opened in Cullenswood House in Ranalagh. Two years later Saint Enda’s School moved to The Hermitage, now home to the Pearse Museum.
Patrick Pearse involved himself in Irish politics. He joined the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood. He gave a graveside oration on 1 August 1915 at the funeral of the Fenian Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa. This oration made Patrick Pearse famous.
Pearse, on behalf of the IRB, gave the signal for the uprising in 1916.
As a result, Pearse and fourteen other leaders, including his brother Willie, were court-martialled. A firing squad executed Patrick Pearse on the morning of 3 May 1916.
During his short live, Patrick Pearse was also a prolific writer.
We hope you enjoyed our video and story. Why not have a look at the rest of our website?
We now offer Hand Crafted Replicas of your Irish Family Homestead
Nothing compares to the touch and feel of your own personal Irish family homestead
Hand-crafted in Ireland, these bespoke replicas are created using accurate information gathered during the research part of our service.
Imagine the pride you will feel when showing your family or peers one of these exquisite trophies of home, either in the Boardroom or seated at the Dinner Table.
Nothing says “Look how far we have come since our forefathers left Ireland, all those years ago”, in the way that an accurate Irish homestead replica does.
Anything is possible, the homestead as it was in its heyday, how it appears now or even the whole village your family came from can be replicated.
Be proud of your heritage, show it off!
Contact us if you would like to find out more or have a look at the rest of our website.
We saw Snowdrops at Historic Altamont Gardens
My Great Aunt called snowdrops ‘fair maidens of February’.
If you love snowdrops and are in Ireland in February you should visit Altamont Gardens?, Carlow. The tour by the gardener is highly recommended.
“Every visitor says it has a special atmosphere, that’s why so many people come back. Every element you want from a great garden is here, from lovely lawns, floral beds and beautiful woodland going down to the river, to a walled garden and really superb collections, such as the snowdrops, rhododendrons and the fabulous oaks in the arboretum” Paul Cutler, head gardener at Altamont Gardens.
If you can’t make it this year, check out this short video we made of our visit. The video is an example of a presentation we at www.genealogy.ie can make of sites of historical importance to your ancestors.
Find out more about the gardens here: http://carlowtourism.com/altamont-gardens/
If you have enjoyed the garden and its story, why not have a look at the rest of our website?
Introduction to Genealogy.ie – Ireland’s specialists in Genealogy and Local History Research
Check out Genealogy.ie’s introduction video
We have over 10 years’ experience in Irish genealogy research and Irish local history research. Genealogy.ie is therefore expertly placed to help you with your Irish family research. Thanks to our ready access to local sources we are often able to uncover family members and/or facts that you cannot from abroad.
If you are just starting with your Irish genealogy research, we can show you the way with an initial investigation. We will also point out further avenues for research and give advice on how best to proceed. Alternatively we can do the entire investigation for you.
If you already have a family tree but just cannot find that elusive Irish ancestor, we can help filling in that gap.
But wherever you live, if do not know what to do next, or have hit a brick wall, we can help you move forward with your Irish genealogy research. We can also verify your research for you, to ensure you have found the right people.
Get help finding your Irish ancestors from the specialists at Genealogy.ie.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM OUR IRISH GENEALOGY RESEARCH SERVICE
Before we start we will always verify with you what it is you want to find. We will also always agree a cost with you. And we present all our findings in a clear and factual report. This reports shows you your question, for what and where we searched (to avoid any future duplication), a conclusion and advice on further research. And of course we will give you digital copies of any certificates, wills, relevant book pages, etc. we have found.
We also offer to travel to places where you ancestors lived or are buried. You will receive a detailed description, complete with photo’s.
We can also enrich your family tree with local history research. This can be the history of an area where your ancestors lived, a village, or even the history of a house of farm, if available.
And we can help you put your data in a great looking presentation. This can be a slide show, video or booklet. Great for that next family gathering or as a personal gift. Click on the image below to have a look at our services.
