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 vampire but it may have been a fifth century Read more
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 Cumhall, a former leader of the Fianna and Muireann Read more
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 1815 lead to a change in the way women Read more
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 would receive from the English Crown and their group Read more
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 Vesci, the wife of Thomas Vesey, the 3rd Viscount Read more
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 any other point in its history. This is evidenced Read more
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 the historical record, only men matter. Of course, this Read more
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 at a scale of 6 inches to one mile.
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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 bog in Co. Laois. A bog body was unearthed Read more
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 characteristic rendering or dismembering of the human form. In Read more
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