Tag: Europe

#OTD in 1796 – Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin receives its first prisoners.

12/08/2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

Kilmainham Gaol is one of the largest unoccupied gaols in Europe, covering some of the most heroic and tragic events in Ireland’s emergence as a modern nation from the 1780s to the 1920s. Attractions include a major exhibition detailing the political and penal history of the prison and its restoration. Located approximately three miles outside […]

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#OTD in 1903 – An elephant named Sita kills her keeper tending her sore foot in Dublin Zoo.

17/06/2021.Reading time 1 minute.

Dublin Zoo was opened in 1831, making it the fourth oldest zoo in Europe. The Zoo’s first elephant was a female called Sita, and her keeper was James McNally. In 1903 Sita cut her foot and as James was applying ointment to her wound, she knocked him down with her trunk and stamped on his […]

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#OTD in 1966 – In 19th Century Dublin, Montgomery St was the largest red-light district in Europe.

26/04/2021.Reading time less than 1 minute.

At least 1,600 ladies conducted their business and the future King Edward VII lost his virginity there. This specialisation was immortalised in the song ‘Monto’ (Take Me Up To Monto) by the Dubliners, recorded on this date. Image | Elliot Place, Dublin, c 1930s

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The Irish in Europe

08/02/2021.Reading time 2 minutes.

St Columbanus, inspired by St Colm Cille’s example, a generation later, travelled across Europe, founding monasteries as he went. The last of these was erected in Bobbio, northern Italy, in AD 613. Thus, even as the pagan tribes of northern Europe were still rampaging across the continent, the Christianity, learning and Latin-based literacy that had been […]

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#OTD in 2007 – Irish Becomes The 23rd Official Language Of the EU.

02/01/2021.Reading time 3 minutes.

The Irish language has been given official status in Europe, taking its place as the 23rd language of the European Union. The move received curiously little attention in the Republic of Ireland, given that the language has at times been regarded as a semi-mystical part of the national identity. This may, however, have been due […]

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Mistletoe, Mythology and Folklore

17/12/2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

From the earliest times mistletoe has been one of the most magical, mysterious, and sacred plants of European folklore. Kissing under the mistletoe is a well-known holiday tradition, but this little plant’s history as a symbolic herb dates back thousands of years. Many ancient cultures prized mistletoe for its healing properties. The plant’s romantic overtones […]

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#OTD in 1796 – Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin receives its first prisoners.

12/08/2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

Kilmainham Gaol is one of the largest unoccupied gaols in Europe, covering some of the most heroic and tragic events in Ireland’s emergence as a modern nation from the 1780s to the 1920s. Attractions include a major exhibition detailing the political and penal history of the prison and its restoration. Located approximately three miles outside […]

Read More

#OTD in 1903 – An elephant named Sita kills her keeper tending her sore foot in Dublin Zoo.

17/06/2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

Dublin Zoo was opened in 1831, making it the fourth oldest zoo in Europe. The Zoo’s first elephant was a female called Sita, and her keeper was James McNally. In 1903 Sita cut her foot and as James was applying ointment to her wound, she knocked him down with her trunk and stamped on his […]

Read More

#OTD in 1966 – In 19th Century Dublin, Montgomery St was the largest red-light district in Europe.

26/04/2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

At least 1,600 ladies conducted their business and the future King Edward VII lost his virginity there. This specialisation was immortalised in the song ‘Monto’ (Take Me Up To Monto) by the Dubliners, recorded on this date. Image | Elliot Place, Dublin, c 1930s

Read More

The Irish in Europe

08/02/2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

St Columbanus, inspired by St Colm Cille’s example, a generation later, travelled across Europe, founding monasteries as he went. The last of these was erected in Bobbio, northern Italy, in AD 613. Thus, even as the pagan tribes of northern Europe were still rampaging across the continent, the Christianity, learning and Latin-based literacy that had been […]

Read More