History tells us that when the stakes were substantial, Pitch and Toss games could become extremely serious. In Dundalk in 1914 a man died following an altercation during a game of Pitch and Toss when an argument arose as to who was entitled to the winnings. Continue reading
Caroline Chisholm had worked hard in Australia for the families of convicts to be reunited. No one knew we had been rejected from the list of travellers. Continue reading
Nobody wanted to know convicts in early British settlement of Australia and now family historians are eager to find a connection to a convict in their family tree. How times have changed. Continue reading
According to Diarmaid Ó Muirithe, the name Sheila derives from Cecily, ‘the English form of the Latin name of the…virgin martyr St Cecilia…The Anglo-Normans brought the name to Ireland and in time it became in the Irish language Síle.. Continue reading
From Limerick and Wicklow, now with a street named after a member of the family. Continue reading
A summary of Irish role in history and literature of Australia, written prior to more recent research and publications in the area. Continue reading
Willie Carlin was an ex-British soldier who worked for Sinn Fein Continue reading
Life was not easy for Jane and Bridget, two of at least fifty famine orphan girls who were gaoled in NSW from the 1850s to 1900. Continue reading
Mary Ann McMaster came to Australia under the Earl Grey Scheme. Continue reading
Catherine Fitzpatrick, a convict’s wife, conductor of the first choir of an infant colony. Continue reading
Tinteán 