May 12, 2024
Opened in 1742, the 18.5 mile Newry Canal was the first summit level canal in Britain or Ireland, a blueprint for future designs. Its purpose was to enable coal to be transported from the coalfields of County Tyrone coalfields, via Lough Neagh, to the wealthy homes of...
Feb 18, 2024
Born in present-day Nigeria, Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745–1797), aka Gustavus Vassa, was one of the first black abolitionists to visit Ireland, calling in at Dublin, Cork, Belfast and ‘many [other] counties …. I was every where exceedingly well treated by...
Dec 28, 2023
Descended from a Cork merchant, the Hare family came to prominence when they bought significant lands in Counties Cork and Kerry in the late 18th century. Convamore, a splendid mansion just outside Ballyhooly, was built in the early 19th century to celebrate their...
Dec 20, 2023
A son of the 4th Viscount Powerscourt, described by his Catholic contemporary as a ‘gentleman … incapable of offering insult to hie fellow-parishioners of the Catholic persuasion.’ Become a member of Turtle’s History Library to access all areas,...
Feb 15, 2023
During the late 17th century, Kilkea Castle in County Kildare was occupied by a series of well-to-do families while the FitzGeralds prepared to move to Carton. In the century thereafter, the dissolute Henry Dixon and the duplicitous Tom Reynolds did not bode well, and...
