Category: Articles

By Tim Lambert According to tradition Cork was founded by St Finbarr in the 7th century. He built an abbey there. Its name comes from the Gaelic Corcaigh, which means marshy place. For centuries the abbey at Cork flourished and it was famous for learning. However, in 820, the Vikings raided the abbey and the… Continue reading A History of Cork, Ireland

By Tim Lambert Viking Dublin Dublin was founded by the Vikings. They founded a new town on the south bank of the Liffey in 841. It was called Dubh Linn, which means black pool. The new town of Dublin was fortified with a ditch and an earth rampart with a wooden palisade on top. In… Continue reading A History of Dublin

By Tim Lambert Early Derry Derry is an ancient settlement. Its name is believed to be derived from the Gaelic word doire meaning a grove of oak trees. From the 6th AD onwards century there was a monastery in Derry. (Tradition says St Columba founded it). In time a settlement grew up by the monastery.… Continue reading A History of Derry

By Tim Lambert VIKING AND MEDIEVAL WATERFORD Waterford is one of Ireland’s oldest towns. The Vikings founded it. They founded several towns in Ireland of which Waterford was one. The exact year Waterford was founded is not known. However, according to tradition, it was around 853 but some people believe it was founded later in… Continue reading A History of Waterford

By Tim Lambert Viking Limerick The Vikings founded Limerick in 922 AD. It was an obvious place to build a town because it was an island between the Shannon and the Abbey River and so was easily defended. Limerick soon became a thriving little town. However, the Vikings fought each other as well as the… Continue reading A History of Limerick

By Tim Lambert Galway in the Middle Ages Galway was first recorded in 1124 when a fort was built there. However, the town was founded in the 13th century. In 1170-71 the English invaded eastern Ireland and in 1232 a baron named Richard de Burgh took this area and created a town. After 1270 walls… Continue reading A History of Galway

By Tim Lambert 19th Century Brisbane In 1823 the government of New South Wales was hoping to found a new prison colony to remove the worst of the convicts from the Sydney area. They sent the Surveyor-General John Oxley (c. 1785-1828) with a ship to explore the coast. When he sailed into Moreton Bay Oxley… Continue reading A History of Brisbane

By Tim Lambert Early Adelaide Before Europeans arrived the Kaurna tribe lived in the Adelaide area. The Indigenous Australians called the Adelaide area Tandanya, which means the Place of the Red Kangaroo. However, in the early 1830s, the British drew up plans to settle the area. It was planned the new colony in South Australia… Continue reading A History of Adelaide

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Terry and Rhonda Luff Early Melbourne The first Europeans visited the site of Melbourne in 1803. A group of settlers landed at Port Phillip Bay but within a year they moved on to Tasmania. The city of Melbourne in Australia was founded in 1835. In that year a group of… Continue reading A History of Melbourne

By Tim Lambert Dedicated to Hollee and Hayden Davill Early Canberra For thousands of years, the indigenous Ngunnawal people lived in the Canberra region, and the name ‘Canberra’ is believed to be derived from an indigenous word meaning ‘meeting place’. The first European explorers arrived in the Canberra area in 1820 and the first settlers… Continue reading A History of Canberra