Richard Crosbie

In Ireland, early aeronautical ambitions had centred on Richard Crosbie (1755–1824). Crosbie’s aeronautical ambition had always been to reach England; although he never managed to do so, he did at least become the first man to fly in Ireland (and the first Irishman to fly) when he ascended from Dublin’s Ranelagh Gardens on 19 January … Read more

McCarthy’s Irish background

Joseph McCarthy was born on 14 November 1908 in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, to a family with strong Irish roots. His paternal grandfather, Stephen, was born in Borrisokane, Co. Tipperary, in 1825. Moving to America in 1858, he married Margaret Stoffel, who was born in the present-day Czech Republic, and bought farmland in Grand Chute. McCarthy’s … Read more

In the beginning . . .

Moritz Altman, his wife Deborah and their infant son Albert arrived in Ireland in the early 1850s. Moritz was a talented milliner and was sometimes referred to as ‘Moses the Tailor’. He also sold ladies’ undergarments and Chaco paper. Examples of Altman’s creations can be viewed at the British Post Office Museum and the Imperial … Read more

St Caillín’s shrine

St Caillín’s shrine was donated to Fenagh by Brian O’Rourke, lord of west Breifne, in 1536. It was held in St Mel’s Cathedral, Longford, from c. 1980 until it was rescued in early January 2010 from the ruins of the cathedral following a disastrous fire there on Christmas Day 2009. It is inextricably linked with … Read more

What is it?

The Book of Fenagh (RIA MS 23 P 26 [cat. no. 479]) is a vellum manuscript which now comprises 41 folios, some having been lost at an unknown point in its history. The manuscript was carefully written in an elegant script on good-quality vellum. Though relatively modest in length, it was nonetheless a prestige manuscript, … Read more