Historyeye's blog

Manhattan Mystery: Notes on the paternity of Éamon de Valera

Historyeye

Jul 22 min read

Manhattan Mystery: Notes on the paternity of Éamon de Valera

Most of de Valera’s biographers have dealt with the puzzle of the Irish statesman’s paternal ancestry with varying degrees of scepticism

Mallet's Folly: the original white elephant of Phibsboro

Historyeye

Jul 18, 20238 min read

Mallet's Folly: the original white elephant of Phibsboro

Newspaper reports of the tragedy recorded that the accident occurred close to the landmark mills that everyone knew as ’Mallet’s Folly’

Father of the American Sky Scraper and his Clonakilty Roots

Historyeye

Apr 22, 20233 min read

Father of the American Sky Scraper and his Clonakilty Roots

He was the father of the sky scraper but Chicago architect Louis H. Sullivan also had his paternal ancestry firmly rooted in Clonakilty Cork

Historyeye

Apr 19, 20237 min read

Number 2 Fitzwilliam Square

It was home to several high-profile entrepreneurs who scaled financial heights only to suffer loss of fortune in the autumn of their lives

Preston Street, Dublin: in the Shadow of the Railway

Historyeye

Feb 12, 20231 min read

Preston Street, Dublin: in the Shadow of the Railway

Preston Street lies in the civil parish of St. Thomas and was built between 1810 and 1817 in the northeast outskirts of Dublin City

Historyeye

Feb 8, 20231 min read

Brendan Behan's Centenary

February 9th, 2023, marks one hundred years since writer Brendan Behan was born at the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, Dublin.

Sheridan Le Fanu's significant anniversary

Historyeye

Feb 7, 20231 min read

Sheridan Le Fanu's significant anniversary

A useful source on Le Fanu is the memoir published by his younger brother, William, a civil engineer. Entitled Seventy Years of Irish Life

Bill Stephens: the Fairview Lion-Tamer and the American woman who witnessed his death

Historyeye

Jan 27, 20233 min read

Bill Stephens: the Fairview Lion-Tamer and the American woman who witnessed his death

Today, Jan 27th 2023, marks the 70th anniversary of the death at Dunsoghly Farm, St. Margaret’s, of the Fairview lion-tamer, Bill Stephens

Historyeye

Jan 25, 20232 min read

Al Capone's Irish In-Laws

Mae Coghlin’s parents were Michael Coughlin and Bridget Gorman. Mae or Mamie was born to the couple in Brooklyn in 1897

Historyeye

Aug 16, 20212 min read

Ancestry of a Tinseltown Trail blazer

Maureen O’Hara, one of the most successful Irish women in Hollywood, was born Maureen Fitzsimons, at Ranelagh, on the 17th August 1920

Historyeye

Jul 24, 20211 min read

Family Tree of Composer Frederick May

This year 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of composer Frederick May in Dublin. Historyeye looks into his family tree

Historyeye

Jul 24, 20211 min read

The Irish Family Tree of P.L. Travers

P.L. Travers was a direct descendant of an earlier writer, Samuel “Premium” Madden, (1686-1765) a pioneer of the science fiction genre

Tour of Dublin locations from Joyce's Dubliners

Historyeye

Jul 24, 20211 min read

Tour of Dublin locations from Joyce's Dubliners

Historyeye tours key locations from five of James Joyce's stories: An Encounter, A Painful Case, Araby, A Boarding House, & The Sisters.

Wexford Religious Censuses of the 19th Century

Historyeye

May 2, 20212 min read

Wexford Religious Censuses of the 19th Century

Historyeye looks at two surviving religious censuses taken in Wexford in the mid 19th century.

Historyeye

Apr 12, 20211 min read

Wexford Catholic Parish Death Records

Most of these surviving death/burial records predate Irish Civil Records by many decades.They also cover the key years of the Great Famine.

Historyeye

Apr 1, 20213 min read

April Fool's Day through the centuries

Napoleon married on the day, Dean Swift loved to commemorate it, money-grabbing scammers exploited it, and royal prisoners used it to launch

Historyeye

Mar 24, 20211 min read

Long liver in Wexford's The Hook

According to the burial records of the catholic parish of St. James & Hook, Mary Kenny, of Haggard in Hook, died 15/10/1850 aged 109 years.

Charles Laughton's grandfather came from Ardee

Historyeye

Mar 5, 20211 min read

Charles Laughton's grandfather came from Ardee

The Hunchback of Notre Dame actor had Irish grandparents on his mother’s side. They were Luke Conlon (Louth) and Mary McAllister (Antrim).

Historyeye

Feb 9, 20214 min read

Brendan Behan's Paternal Ancestors

Writer Brendan Behan (born on this day 98 years ago) was nothing if not a proud Dubliner. He was particularly proud that the Behans had...

Historyeye

Jan 6, 20211 min read

The death of Harry Clarke

Today is the 90th anniversary of the death of stained-glass artist Harry Clarke at Chur, near Davos in Switzerland.