McAllister – a monument with history

by | Jul 6, 2020 | 1798, Baltinglass, Derrynamuck, George Smyth Sculptor, Glen of Imaal, Local History, Michael Dwyer, Sam McAllister, Stratford-on-Slaney, Wicklow | 6 comments

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...

Derrynamuck and Cocoon: only four degrees of separation

by | Jun 10, 2019 | 1798, Derrynamuck, Dominick Blake, Glen of Imaal, Hacketstown, Hollywood Stars, Hume Cronyn, Hume Family, Humewood, Irish Migration, Kiltegan, Michael Dwyer | 4 comments

On a cold February night in the Glen of Imaal, Co. Wicklow, in 1799 it would have seemed unimaginable luxurious to those trying to stay warm that people in the future would swim in heated man-made pools.  Rebels on the run hardly thought about such things.  Telling...