30th March 2021 McClearn Eoin Blog 4 The Abhartach There’s a possibility that Bram Stoker’s inspiration for his gothic masterpiece, Dracula, might stem from Irish folklore and not Romanian history. Vlad the Impaler was thought to be the original… Read More
1st March 2021 McClearn Eoin Blog 2 The Story of Fionn Mac Cumhaill Said to be from around Ballyfin in County Laois, Fionn Mac Cumhaill was a leader of the Fianna during the Fenian cycle of Irish Mythology. He was the son of… Read More
2nd July 2019 Mairead Connell Blog 35 Bustles & Bicycles; The bike as a Vehicle for Social Change A fascinating theme running through the study of history seems to be the domino effect of seemingly unrelated events on one another. For example how did a volcanic eruption in… Read More
6th December 2018 Regina McGinley Blog 5 On this day 6th December 1921 On this day 6th of December 1921 the Anglo-Irish treaty was signed by a group of plenipotentiaries who believed that the treaty they were signing was the best option they… Read More
4th December 2018 Regina McGinley Blog 4 Abbeyleix Baby Linen Society 1845 Sitting in the National Library of Ireland in the Manuscripts section is an account book of the Abbeyleix Baby Linen Society, started in 1845, by Lady Emma Vesey, Viscountess de… Read More
6th April 2018 Lesley Blog 8 Incubating Ireland: The role of the Royal Dublin Society and Royal Irish Academy in the establishment of the National Museum of Ireland Perhaps in this decade of centenaries, the National Museum of Ireland is an institution whose collections and role in contemporary society are both more contested and more ambiguous than at… Read More
8th March 2018 Lesley Blog Writing Women Into History Cleopatra Flicking through children’s school books, reading the latest historical bestseller or checking out the history documentaries television has to offer, you would be forgiven for thinking that when it comes to… Read More
26th July 2017 Abbeyleix Heritage Blog 1 How Abbeyleix looked in 1840 What the Maps Can Tell us? At Heritage House we have a collection of Original First Edition Ordinance Survey Maps from 1839/41, which show us the entire county of Laois… Read More
30th June 2017 Abbeyleix Heritage Blog 3 The Cashel Bog Body, A Bronze Age King of Laois Cashel man photographed shortly after the arrival of the archaeological team from the National Museum of Ireland On Wednesday 10th of August 2011, a remarkable find was uncovered on a… Read More
13th May 2017 Abbeyleix Heritage Blog Sensation and Presence in Francis Bacon To take sensation and presence as concepts through which to look at Bacon's art seems appropriate given his recurrent concern with pure feeling in his subjects and with his… Read More