The Irish in Latin America

So it's time for a well deserved break from the history of great cities......fascinating and all as they are....and take a look at some of the stories of Irish people who got themselves involved in the independence struggles of Central and South American countries. There were quite a few, and their names are still revered …

Londinium Baby, Part Four

By the beginning of the 19th century, London was well on the way to becoming the biggest city in the world, as well as the largest port, the capital of an empire, and a major centre of trade and finance. In this final gripping installment of the history of London, I’ll examine the Victorian city …

Londinium Baby, Part Three

Ok, it's time for another "then and now" blog post, examining famous London locations at different times in history, just as I did with New York. I'm going to compare images of various parts of that great city to try and understand how they developed over the years, hopefully also giving us a better understanding …

Londinium Baby, Part Two

So before I start my inane ramblings again, I just want to point out that as I write this on a PC, the images may be more impressive and easier to access if viewed on a bigger screen than the one that fits in your pocket.....just a suggestion.....though I'm happy if anyone bothers to read …

Londinium Baby, Part One

Ok, now I'm moving on to another of the big boys. One of the oldest cities in the world and a centre of civilisation for two millennia, London was founded by the Romans just after the J-Man passed away and stopped magicking up fish, behaving inappropriately around dead bodies and hookers, and pretending his rambling …

New York, New York, Part Three

So we're finally coming to the end of our exploration of one of the greatest cities in the world. At the beginning of the 19th century, New York City officials sought to put a level of order on the northerly spread of their growing metropolis, and to divide off the land to sell. To achieve …

New York, New York, Part Two

Marty: Wait a minute, Doc. Ah… Are you telling me that you built a time machine… out of a DeLorean?Dr. Brown: The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style? Back to the Future (1985) As a special treat to my many …

New York, New York, Part One

In this blog post, I'll continue examining how cities physically grew and developed from basic settlements to massive metropolises over time. This week (and next) it's the turn of one of the world’s greatest cities – New York - and how it grew from a tiny trade centre in the New World into the sprawling …

Great Southern Land

In this blog post (and a few more hopefully), I’d like to indulge my fascination with the development of major urban centres over the years…….how cities physically grew and developed from basic settlements to massive metropolises has always interested me. All of the world’s great cities – London, New York, Sydney etc. – grew from …

Few innocents in war

In this blog post, I plan to take a look at some members of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) who were killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the War of Independence in the years 1919 to 1922 in what was a brutally murderous campaign on all sides. The RIC was the armed police …