We fondly remember the great Seamus Heaney who left us on 30th August 2013, a tremendous loss to his family and friends and to fans of poetry at home and all over the world. As we enter autumn and the shortening days, here’s The Skylight from Poetry Ireland Review 27.

This book is fantastic, an absolute essential for any fan of Dublin history. Highly recommended. I'm inspired to dig it out again for a second read!

Lilian Bland was a pioneering Irish aviator and a trailblazer. On this day in 1910, she became the first woman in the world to design, build, and pilot her own aircraft, the Mayfly. This historic flight took place at Shane’s Castle estate in Randalstown, Antrim, where Bland’s

In the 18th century, a "freak of nature" from Dublin called Thomas Eclin became the toast of cultured London society for all the wrong reasons...he ate live dogs and cats! In fact, he was insatiably addicted to eating mountains of raw meat. An English newspaper described the

I wish more people knew the true story of the lady labelled the "Ugliest Woman in the World." Mary Ann Webster was born in London in 1874, and the first half of her life was very ordinary. The pretty young girl became a nurse, married Thomas Bevan in 1903, and together, they had

The Tánaiste has openly admitted that the government is afraid of a Sinn Féin president if they extend voting rights in presidential elections to Irish citizens in Northern Ireland. How dare hypocritical Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil TD claim to want a United Ireland when not only

Free tickets: dublincity.spydus.ie/cgi-bin/spydus… Very exciting to interview Paula Meehan on 28 September as part of the Festival of History. We'll hear some of her work from the Decade of Centenaries and on other historic themes.

Delighted to announce something that I have been wanting to do for many years - a First World War tour of Dublin. Thanks to the Dublin Festival of History for making it happen as part of this year's festival. The tour starts at 12.45pm from Richmond Barracks on Wednesday, October 2nd. The details

A mysterious sign on Eden Quay marks the once world famous City of Dublin Steam Packet Company. The monster shipping line was established in 1823, initially for the high traffic cross-channel mail routes between Britain and Ireland for over a century. The highly profitable

Some shocking allegations about the involvement of Kingspan in the Grenfell Fire. Kingspan allegedly knowingly created a false market for its Kooltherm K15 insulation, used in Grenfell Tower, by falsely claiming it passed fire safety tests despite disastrous test results (and

Chancery Park, with its fountain and Art Deco features, is a lovely gated oasis near the Four Courts. This fascinating little footprint of history is only open a few hours a day, which makes access to it all the sweeter. The restrictions are due to that perennial plague of

Back at the psychiatric unit today. It's been a rough couple of weeks, but my heroic husband has been looking after me, and I'm being a good boy with my meds, and I'll be back on the horse soon. I feel I've a responsibility to share stuff like this because someone might feel a

Looking forward to discussing the Boundary Commission with Margaret O' Callagha and Edward Burke on 28 September at 10am in Dublin Castle.