by Paul Gorry | Jan 6, 2022 | Allihies, Beara Peninsula, Books, Castletownbere, Cork, Daphne du Maurier, Family History, Genealogy, Hungry Hill, Hungry Hill, Local History, Puxley Family, West Cork |
A few months ago I spent a weekend with friends on the Beara Peninsula in West Cork. On our way from Glengarriff to Castletownbere we drove along the base of the bleak looking Hungry Hill. It’s the highest mountain on the peninsula. During our few days we visited...
by Paul Gorry | May 21, 2021 | Gordon Bennett, Joseph Gorry, Kildare, Local History, Motor Racing, Naas |
Gordon Bennett !!! This photograph was taken on Wednesday 1 July 1903 in South Main Street, Naas, Co. Kildare. What was happening was the weighing of the cars for the 4th Gordon Bennett Cup Race, the first to be held outside of France. The race took place the...
by Paul Gorry | Jul 6, 2020 | 1798, Baltinglass, Derrynamuck, George Smyth Sculptor, Glen of Imaal, Local History, Michael Dwyer, Sam McAllister, Stratford-on-Slaney, Wicklow |
At the age of 116, Sam McAllister is the oldest resident of Baltinglass. He has stood at the centre of Main Street since his unveiling on 8 May 1904. He has become a symbol of Baltinglass and even a minor place-name. People often meet ‘at McAllister’. Pop-up...
by Paul Gorry | Jan 10, 2020 | Baltinglass, Books, Genealogy, Local History, Stratford Family, Weavers' Square |
I sometimes think that I’m more familiar with people who lived in Baltinglass in the past than those who live here now. I mean people who were here in the nineteenth century in particular. It’s not that I communicate with their spirits or anything like that! I...
by Paul Gorry | Aug 24, 2018 | Baltinglass, Family History, Local History, West Wicklow Historical Society |
The recent intense and prolonged heatwave experienced by Ireland reminded me of a short newspaper article I came across a few years ago. I included it in my contribution to the Journal of the West Wicklow Historical Society, No. 6 (2011), ‘Miscellaneous...
by Paul Gorry | Apr 20, 2018 | 1798, Baltinglass, Derrynamuck, Glen of Imaal, Graveyards, Kilranelagh, Local History, Michael Dwyer, Presbyterians, Religious Denominations, Sam McAllister, Stratford-on-Slaney, Weavers |
If you were to take a photograph to capture the essence of Baltinglass you might think of a general view of the town from the Carlow Road, or one of the Abbey from across the river. But you’re as likely to think of the McAllister monument as your symbol of...
