In 1783, Carl Gottlob Küttner (1755-1805) travelled via Holyhead to Dublin for his new post as house teacher and travel companion in the household of George Beresford (1735–1800), the second Earl of Tyrone. Originally from the Electorate of Saxony,…

The day for which Holyhead had so anxiously prepared had finally arrived: newly-crowned King George IV (1820-1830) was making his first visit to Holyhead as a stop-off in his inaugural grand tour. In the early evening hours of Monday, August 6,…

In the decade 1912-1923, continuous waves of events impacted Irish society, including the 1913 Lockout, the First World War, the 1916 Easter Rising, the Spanish flu, the War of Independence, Anglo-Irish treaty, partition, Civil War and finally the…

Travel is often eventful and never without risks. One hundred years ago the mail boat and train service between Dublin and London Euston was the critical travel infrastructure supporting the Anglo-Irish treaty negotiations. On the morning of 3rd…

Billy lived in Holyhead in the nineteenth century. He was a young man affected by paraplegia in a time when society still operated under conventional notions of ‘perfection,’ and of the many important stories presented in the invaluable Holyhead:…

History has played out on the route between Dublin and London, and the Port of Holyhead was often the critically timed step across the Irish Sea. Over an intense three-month period one hundred years ago, Irish delegations and secret documents…

Cynefin, cynefinoedd habitat, accustomed, conversant, familiar, intimate Hiraeth grief, homesickness, longing, nostalgia, wistfulness -Geiriadur Prifysgol Bangor University Cynefin. Roots. Familiarity. The pull that breeds Hiraeth…

Recently my sister Karen and I discussed our memories of visits to Ireland as children - we would go most years to visit Mum’s side of the family in West Cork. Before budget airlines shortened and cheapened the trips, Dad would drive the car from…

Holyhead is the largest town on Holy Island, Anglesey. The town is best known for its role as a major seaport and it boasts an over 200-year old ferry link with Ireland. Although Holyhead remained a comparatively small fishing village until around…

“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.”―Rudyard Kipling. I love visiting Museums. You’ll always hear Writers and Storytellers say that stories, in whatever form, bind us and that we can only really learn how…