The death took place on 26 August 2020 of Right Reverend Monsignor Leonard O’Brien, PE. Monsignor O’Brien died peacefully at Marymount University Hospice, Cork, where he had been in care for a number of weeks. Leonard O’Brien was born at
A Skibbereen cameo during the War of Independence
On Friday evening, 17 December 1920, District Inspector Philip O’Sullivan, an RIC man, left his place of work at Dublin Castle. He walked the short distance to Henry Street where he was to meet his fiancée. The couple met at
Stories of the Revolution: 1916–1923
The ‘Stories of the Revolution: 1916-1923’ is a project run by Skibbereen Heritage Centre, with the support of Cork County Council, which invites primary school children to collect stories relating to the 1916–1923 period from their own area. The concept
Fascinating insight into Primary Education in early nineteenth century Ireland
Well-known local historian Tony McCarthy has written a particularly interesting article on the state of Primary Education in Ireland in the early nineteenth century for the Skibbereen & District Historical Society Journal, Vol 16, 2020. In the late eighteenth and
Gerald Butler’s unique perspective on the 1979 Fastnet disaster
On 11 August 1979, 303 yachts began the 600-mile Fastnet Race from Cowes on the Isle of Wight to Fastnet Rock. Weather conditions were good when the race began but that changed very quickly when a Force 10 storm swept