Avenues to an Afterlife?

© The Publisher & The Author

Full title: Exploring the Baltinglass cursus complex: routes for the dead

Creator / Author: James O’Driscoll

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article (online) / 18p

Journal Information: Antiquity First View, pp. 1-18

When Published: 25^th April 2024

Publisher / Place of Publication: Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd. / Cambridge, CB2 8AE, United Kingdom

About: James O’Driscoll, who has spent the past number of years investigating the Baltinglass Hillfort Complex, now presents his latest findings in an online article under the aegis of the scholarly journal ‘Antiquity’. The author describes a cluster of cursus monuments that have been discovered using the newest archaeology tools and techniques. This is the first time that a cluster of such monuments has been discoved in Ireland. The author concludes that the monuments “demonstrate a clear connection between the dead, major solar events and seasonal farming cycles”.

ID number(s): 0003-598X (Print), 1745-1744 (Online)

Article Contents: Abstract — Introduction — Neolithic Ireland and the Baltinglass Landscape — The Baltinglass Cursus Monuments — The Baltinglass Cursus Monuments in Context — Routes for the Dead? — Conclusion — Funding Statement — References.

Extra #1: includes maps and photographs.

Extra #2: Read this article online via the Publisher’s Website.

Extra #3: Link to the website of the journal ‘Antiquity’ at: https://antiquity.ac.uk/

Extra #4: The findings of James O’Driscoll in the above article have been picked up by a number of news outlets and social media streams. For example, ‘Newsweek’ (online edition) contains this item by Aristos Georgiou.

Twelfth Collection of Articles on West Wicklow History

© Individual Contributors

Full title: Journal of the West Wicklow Historical Society: Number 12, 2023-24

Creator / Author: West Wicklow Historical Society & contributors, joint editors Chris Lawlor, Declan Keenan

Item Type / Page count: Journal (Complete issue) / 200p

When Published: 2023

Publisher / Place of Publication: West Wicklow Historical Society / Baltinglass (?), Co. Wicklow.

About: This twelveth publication of this biennial journal was launched in the Coimín Centre, Blessington on 9/11/2023. It includes perhaps the most diverse set of topics yet to appear in this journal. Full contents are listed below. The most extensive article in this issue runs to 24 pages. In it, Peter W. Halligan provides an enlightening account of the castles at Oldcourt and Three Castles. 

ID number(s): 0790-1739

Contents: Foreword from the Chairman / Paul Gorry — Donal McDonnell (1945-2022) — Secretary’s Synopsis / Cora Crampton — Noel Lyons (1942-2022) — Editor’s Preface / Chris Lawlor — Mapping the devolved Gaelic territories and districts of the O’Tooles / Declan Keenan — Migrant railway workers and local communities: a case study of Harristown station on the Sallins-Tullow branch line 1883-1951 / John O’Brien — Some observations on the Great famine in County Wicklow, c.1845-1850 / Gerald Cullen — Gentry, Brides and Lions / Maura Murphy Gibson — The man who wore a blue shirt in 1933: the Bass War in West Wicklow and Kildare / Declan O’Connor — A little bit of Bulgaria in Ireland: Pierce O’Mahony (1850-1930): politician and philanthropist / Brian McCabe — Dame Ninette de Valois (Edris Stannus) / Paul Tyrell — A 1792 Rental of the Lordship of Belan, Co. Kildare / Richard B. Lennon —Language Matters Revisited / Ita Roddy — Death from a Flat-Nosed Bullet in Blessington / James Scannell — A farming community: Hollywood in the early twentieth century / John Glennon — Sadhbh O’Byrne – glimpses of a Gaelic woman of sixteenth-century Ireland / Cora Crampton — The Manor of Blessington, created by Michael Boyle / Jim Corley — Revisiting the 1798 Dunlavin massacre for its 225th anniversary / Chris Lawlor — Balfe the Robber / Brendan Corrigan — A sociological interpretation of the Hillfort Capital – exploring Hughstown and Tinoran hillforts (part 1 of 3) / Mairéad Kelly — Charles Maule Drury (1848-1939) – collector of folklore / Paul Gorry — The castles of Oldcourt and Three Castles / Peter W. Halligan — ‘I say it as I think it’ : The life and controversial times of Rev. T. C. O’Connor, Rector of Donoughmore and Donard / Rosemary Raughter — Query / Peter W. Halligan.

Extra #1: Illustrated throughout with black & white photographs and maps.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide

Extra #4: Visit the West Wicklow Historical Society website

The Prehistoric Landscape Around Rathgall

© The Publisher

Full title: Rathgall – piecing together the mosaic of a later prehistoric landscape

Creator / Author: James O’Driscoll and Katharina Becker

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 6p

Journal Information: Archaeology Ireland, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 30-35

When Published: Winter 2022

Publisher / Place of Publication: Wordwell Ltd. / Unit 9, 78 Furze Road, Sandyford, Dublin 18.

About: An article that summarises the most up-to-date information about what the authors describe as “one of the pre-eminent later prehistoric sites in the country”. The newest archaeological tools and techniques suggest that Rathgall was part of a wider prehistoric landscape and this article sets out to interpret the latest findings.

ID number(s): 0790-892X

Extra #1: includes several colour and b/w photographs.

Extra #2: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

Eleventh Collection of Articles on West Wicklow History

© Individual Contributors

Full title: Journal of the West Wicklow Historical Society: Number 11, 2021-22

Creator / Author: West Wicklow Historical Society & contributors, joint editors Chris Lawlor, Donal McDonnell

Item Type / Page count: Journal (Complete issue) / 168p

When Published: 2021

Publisher / Place of Publication: West Wicklow Historical Society / Baltinglass (?), Co. Wicklow.

About: This is the eleventh publication of the now biennial journal. It includes a very broad set of topics indeed. Subjects covered include: The O’Tooles in the 16^th century, Ladies’ Day in Punchestown, A Wicklow man in India, The seasonal movement of livestock in the Wicklow mountains, A murder from 1916 and A traditional recipe for oatmeal biscuits, to name but a few. The most extensive article in this issue is by Cora Crampton. Running to 26 pages it tells of John & Jennie Wyse Power, a real-life couple who featured in Joyce’s Ulysses.  

ID number(s): 0790-1739

Contents: Foreword from the Chairman / John A. O’Toole — Ramblings of the Secretary / Donal McDonnell — Editor’s Preface / Chris Lawlor — Ladies’ Day at Punchestown: 150 years of Festival Fashion / Dr. Emma Lyons — The O’Tooles of Imail in the sixteenth-century / Brendan Corrigan — ‘Home Rule is throwing many a shadow now’: Wicklow women, Unionism and the Women’s Declaration of 1912 / Rosemary Raughter — ‘A Celt, A Catholic and a Peasant’- A Wicklow man in India / Andrew Keating — John and Jennie Wyse Power – the real-life couple featured in James Joyce’s Ulysses  / Cora Crampton — The Rev. Ogle Moore of Manor Kilbride / Jim Corley — The beautiful woman in the long red cloak / Ita Roddy — Winter-transhumance routes between the Wicklow Mountains and the surrounding lowlands / John Hussey — Murder Most Foul / Maura Murphy Gibson – Some aspects of County Wicklow’s railway history / James Scannell — Back to Burgage / Niamh McCabe & Brian McCabe — The Irish language influence in West Wicklow placenames / John Glennon — Oatmeal biscuits / Sarah Gillespie — Divided loyalties in Kildare: truce, treaty and drift to Civil War / Michael Murphy —Baltinglass Bridewell and Courthouse [Part Two] / Chris Lawlor.

Extra #1: Illustrated throughout with black & white photographs, maps, drawings and graphs.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide

Extra #4: Visit the West Wicklow Historical Society website.

IN MEMORIAM Donal McDonnell (Hon. Secretary of WWHS and joint-editor of this journal) R.I.P

A Hollywood Church History

© The Publisher
Cover image by Liv Oeian

Full title: St. Kevin’s, Hollywood

Creator / Author: Christopher Moriarty

Item Type / Page count: Magazine Article / 3pp

Journal Information: The Sacred Heart Messenger Magazine, pp. 22-24

When Published: February 2020

Publisher / Place of Publication: Messenger Publications / 37 Leeson Place, Dublin 2.

About: A short article from the series ‘Places of Worship’, this presents a potted history of St. Kevin’s Church in Hollywood in West Wicklow.

ID number(s): 1649-4450

Extra #1: Includes three colour photographs.

Extra #2: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #3: Link to the Publisher’s website

A Man’s Castle is his Home

© Irish Arts Review

Full title: Gothic Revival

Creator / Author: James Horan; photography by Ros Kavanagh

Item Type / Page count: Magazine Article / 6p

Journal Information: Irish Arts Review, Vol. 34, No. 2 pp. 142-147, editor, John Mulcahy

When Published: Summer 2017

Publisher / Place of Publication: Irish Arts Review Ltd. / 15 Harcourt Terrace, Dublin D02 TD65

About: A highly-illustrated article covering the restoration of Humewood Castle. The new owner, John C. Malone, is a highly successful businessman with Irish heritage and uses the historic castle as a family residence. The restoration on behalf of the Malone Family was undertaken between 2012 and 2016 and kept faith with the building’s architectural legacy. The article also incorporates a short inset piece by John Mulcahy, recalling one of Humewood’s previous owners, Mimi Hume-Weygand.

ID number(s): 1649-217X

Extra #1: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #2: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #3: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

The Other House at Russborough

© IPC Inspire
 (cover Andrew Butler/NTPL)

Full title: Mount Temple Co. Wicklow

Creator / Author: David Watkin; photographs by Paul Barker

Item Type / Page count: Magazine Article / 6p

Journal Information: Country Life, pp. 68-73, editor, Mark Hedges.

When Published: November 8^th, 2007

Publisher / Place of Publication: IPC Inspire / Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SU, United Kingdom

About: Described by the author as a “handsome Classical country house”, Mount Temple was built in 1981-82 on an elevated site overlooking the more famous Russborough House. This highly illustrated article describes the house and the architectural inspirations underpinning John Redmill’s design.  

ID number(s): 0045-8856

Extra #1: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #2: Browse to a 3-page article by John Redmill, architect of Mount Temple. Courtesy of the Georgian Group Report and Journal 1986

The A-Maze-ing Hollywood Stone

© JRSAI

Full title: The Holywood Stone and the Labyrinth of Knossos

Creator / Author: Goddard H. Orpen (1852-1932)

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 13pp

Journal Information: Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Sixth Series, Volume 13, Number 2, pp. 177-189

When Published: December 1923

Publisher / Place of Publication: R.S.A.I / Merrion Square, Dublin

About: The Hollywood Stone is a large decorated stone which was found in 1908 face downwards close to the Pilgrim’s Road which leads to Glendalough. The author, having originally assumed that the decoration represented a cross, now proposes that the design really is of a type of maze or labyrinth that is associated with that of the Minotaur at Knossos in Crete. This article looks at the history of this pattern, also known as the ‘Game of Troy’, and compares the Hollyood example with others from abroad.

ID number(s): 0035-9106

Extra #1: Includes several photographs and illustrations.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Read this article online via JSTOR. [Personal registration / conditions apply]. Alternatively, your local public library may provide free online access to this article.

The Swift Family and Fortgranite

Copyright KAS

Full title: ‘The Family of Swift’ a fragment of autobiography illustrated

Creator / Author: Mary Stratton Ryan

Item Type / Page count: Journal Article / 12pp

Journal Information: Old Kilkenny Review: The Journal of Kilkenny Archaeological Society, Number 71 pp. 63-74

When Published: 2019-20

Publisher / Place of Publication: Kilkenny Archaeological Society / Rothe House, Parliament Street, Kilkenny

About: In this paper the author outlines some of the history of the Swift Family in Ireland, whose most famous member was Dean Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels. She traces the family link with Fortgranite Estate in West Wicklow. Some Swift family portraits which were sold in 2019 as part of the contents of Fortgranite originally came from Swiftsheath, Jenkinstown, Co. Kilkenny, Indeed, the Dennis Family of Fortgranite were in fact Swifts.

ID number(s): 0332-0774

Extra #1: Illustrated with eight black & white photographs.

Extra #2: Check Libraries Ireland for this publication.

Extra #3: Check OCLC WorldCat.org for this publication in libraries worldwide.

Extra #4: Link to the KAS website

Remembering Tim Lennon 1898-1990

© The Publisher

Full title: When Yez’ Lave’ Me in Baltyboys..

Creator / Author: Mattie Lennon

Item Type / Page count: Magazine Article / 1pp

Journal Information: Ireland’s Eye Magazine, Issue 458, pp. (inside cover)

When Published: February 2019

Publisher / Place of Publication: Ireland’s Eye / 6 Dominick Street, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath.

About: A short one-page obituary of Tim Lennon, who “first saw the light over Blackhill on 17^th November, 1898” and who died in Baltinglass Hospital in March 1990. This obituary, written by his son, Mattie, was first published in the parish newsletter.  

Extra #1: Read this article online via the website of Mattie Lennon Poet, Author, Folklorist and Traditional Lyricist