Historical Places
Glenarm Castle – A History
A popular tourist destination, Glenarm Castle has been home to the Earls of Antrim and the McDonnell family for 400 years.
Forgotten Folk
Laura Bell – An Extraordinary Life of two Halves!
Laura Bell was a noted Irish beauty, who led a somewhat flamboyant and notorious life, with an unexpected ‘twist in the tail’!
Historical Places
Queen Street’s Belfast Hospital for Sick Children
Queen Street’s Belfast Hospital for Sick Children opened in April 1879 funded through donations and subscriptions. Today it lies derelict
People
Edward Bunting – A precious gift of the melodies of our native bards
Edward Bunting was a celebrated musician who gifted us a precious inheritance of the matchless melodies of our native bards…
Places
Marquis Street, Belfast – Let There Be Light!
Marquis Street today is an abandoned thoroughfare, its long history forgotten but it played a surprising part in Belfast’s development.
Places
The House of Correction – Belfast’s terrifying city centre prison
How many walking down Howard Street in Belfast today realise that it once hosted Belfast’s “House of Correction” – a prison to be feared!
Forgotten Folk
Cushendall – A Colourful Village with a Colourful History
Cushendall, County Antrim is a pretty, friendly, colourful and busy village with a colourful history to match.
Historical Places
Church Lane, Belfast – Skeletons, bars and ‘Bullseye Braithwaite’
A small 17th‑century street, Church Lane has an impressive history featuring a myriad of occupants, ghosts, bars and ‘Bullseye Braithwaite’
Places
The Ancient Church of Ardclinis, its Crozier and its Fairy Tree
Travelling along the Antrim Coast Road, the ancient church of Ardclinis (and its Fairy Tree) in a picturesque setting is well worth a visit.
Places
Belfast’s Forgotten Streets and Corners
Belfast has ‘lost’ many quirkily named streets, lanes and alleys over the years, among them Cooney’s Court, Bluebell Entry and Elbow Lane
True Stories
February 1876 News – The Courts, Curiosities and the Macabre.
The newspapers of February 1876 covered a range of stories including court proceedings, “babes” in the city and murder at a “Spelling Bee”
Forgotten Folk
Edward Benn – A Tale of Three Belfast Hospitals
Despite enduring poor health during his own life, Edward Benn’s charitable donations did much to relieve the suffering of many in Belfast
Stories
The Giant’s Causeway Hydroelectric Tramway – A World’s First!
The Giant’s Causeway Hydroelectric Tramway was the world’s first example of renewable-powered public transport,
Stories
January 1876 News – The Donegall Place Fire in Belfast
January 1876 News – The Great Belfast Donegall Street Fire, Armagh’s Ghostly Resurrection and Love’s Young Dream
Historical Places
Lombard Street – Legg’s Lane, the Curiosity Shop & Gutta-percha
Lombard Street, Belfast replaced Legg’s Lane and Caddell’s Entry as a popular business location featuring the Curiosity Shop and Gutta-percha
Historical Places
The Unforgettable Dunluce Castle – A Brief History
The picturesque ruins and history of Dunluce Castle “are not surpassed by any on the entire coasts of the British Isles” (McComb’s Guide to Belfast, 1861)
Historical Places
Academy Street, Belfast – Teenage Rebellion, Oddfellows Hall and the Blitz!
Today Academy Street, Belfast is an unremarkable thoroughfare. Its forgotten history has much of interest including an armed student revolt.
Historical Places
Castle Upton, Templars Town – An Eventful History
Castle Upton – An eventful history including the Knights Hospitaller, the Norton Family, the Upton Family and the Hearts of Steel
Historical Places
Wilson’s Court – The Story of a Belfast Entry and its Northern Star
Wilson’s Court is a neglected narrow Belfast alley. It was once such a populous, busy and important thoroughfare!
Stories
October 1875 News – A Dark Seance at the Imperial Hotel and Corporation Street on Fire
What was being reported in our local newspapers 150 years ago? Read some of the news & stories of October 1875
Forgotten Folk
“Barney Maglone” – The Life of Robert Arthur Wilson
Robert A Wilson (Barney Maglone) “An able journalist, a gifted poet, a fearless and unflinching advocate for the rights of the people”