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Talk: The Shoemaker's Daughters
Dr. Máire Kennedy very kindly agreed to my giving yet another lecture, this time on Christopher Burgess and his family, at the family history day in the Dublin City Library and Archive on 24 March 2012. I have put up a backup page on this site from which much of the material that underpinned the presentation, and the presentation itself, can be accessed. I didn't actually have a full text script which was just as well as the presentation was being radically pruned right up to the night before. I have put up a copy of my "running order" which I used as a script on the day. Talk: The Medlar's Gotcha Dr. Máire Kennedy very kindly agreed to my giving a lecture on P J Medlar, City Councillor and Undertaker, at the family history day in the Dublin City Library and Archive on 27 March 2010. I have put up a backup page on this site from which much of the material that underpinned the presentation, and the presentation itself, can be accessed. I didn't actually have a full text script which was just as well as the presentation was being radically pruned right up to the night before. Old Shieling Hotel demolished for Apartments The main claim to fame of the Old Shieling Hotel in Raheny, Dublin 5, seems to have been that Lord Edward FitzGerald slept there. The republican tradition had reached the stage of bucket collections, in Bill Fuller's day in the 1970s. The Hotel, and its extensions, are now no more and have made way for apartments. I have documented the sequence. Talk: Ballybrack 1500-1900 Dr. Máire Kennedy very kindly invited me to give a lecture on Ballybrack for the local history day in the Dublin City Library and Archive in September 2008. This involved upgrading a slide show and display panels to Powerpoint and seriously compressing the presentation into 45 minutes. I have put up a backup page on this site from which much of the material that underpinned the presentation, and the presentation itself, can be accessed. I didn't actually have a textual script which was just as well as the presentation was being radically pruned right up to the night before. Niall's Tower For only the second time in over 200 years, No.7 Martello Tower, in Killiney, Co. Dublin, Ireland, was inaugurated on Saturday, 12th July 2008. This was (almost) the culmination of a project aimed at restoring the Tower to its original state, and, some would say, use. Niall O'Donoghue has undertaken the restoration at great expense, both financially and in terms of effort, and the result is stunning. Check it out. Galway Galway is a nice city, at least in the centre, and despite a very strong tourist orientation. There is a lot of culture around, and the influences keep changing. There was a strong Spanish influence due to trade and military connections; Cromwell is not a hero here; there is a McDonalds and the current wave of Central and Eastern European immigrants are making their mark. The offering here is not meant to be comprehensive, it is just a record of things that struck me in the course of visits over the last year or so. Ainmniú Sráideanna BÁC The naming of Dublin streets in the Irish language over the years is nothing short of a national disgrace. It has encapsulated an ignorance of the origins of the streetnames, a total disregard for Irish grammar and syntax and a general attitude to the language itself which could only be described as loving contempt. See for yourself. I have added a slightly more structured look at some of the problems also: Cad as duit ? Shanganagh Valley News I always aspired to a career in journalism and actually edited a local newspaper when in my teens. It was for real, had an enthusiastic and interested readership and followed the diaspora around the world. Family History Sometime early in 2006 I got a yen to research my family history. This can be a seriously addictive pastime but it is good fun and can provoke an interest in such varied areas as technological progress in past centuries and even equal rights for corpses in cemeteries regardless of gender or religion. Aisteoirí Bulfin i Mühlheim na Gearmáine Aodh Ó Domhnaill wrote a modern version of Brecht's Threepenny Opera, in Irish, and set in modern Dublin, and took it to the Mühlheim International Drama Festival. Tour of Ballybrack I lived in Ballybrack between 1954 and 1975. On a recent visit I spent an hour recording its modern face and threw in some irreverent comments for good measure. Tour of Orwell Gardens I lived in Orwell Gardens between 1950 and 1954. On a recent visit I spent an hour recording its modern face and threw in some comments for good measure. Nelson's Head This is my alltime scoop. The guys, and I don't recollect seeing any gals, who stole Nelson's head for a fashion shoot on Killiney beach. Back to Póló's Home Page |