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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 1h

A court report in London's Morning Herald, 7 Oct 1854.
"Helen Toomey, 12, Honora Riley, 12, and Catherine Donovan, 11, were charged with stealing a quantity of coals from a barge opposite the City Gas-works wharf".
Might they have been Irish Famine migrant children in London? #IrishLondonHistory ☘

Screenshot of a page from the Morning Herald (London) - Saturday 07 October 1854, in the British Newspaper Archive.
https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002408/18541007/094/0008
Text reads as follows: "GUILDHALL.....before Sir C. Marshall....
Helen Toomey, 12, Honora Riley, 12, and Catherine Donovan, 11, were charged with stealing a quantity of coals from a barge opposite the City Gas-works wharf. — Police-constable Dolshuntz, 367, stated that about halfpast five o'clock yesterday evening, he saw Riley and Donovan lift Toomey into the barge in question, and she commenced throwing coals from there into the mud for the other prisoners to pick up. There were about 30 young girls engaged in the same employment. When they saw him they threw the coals away and ran off. On being examined at the station-house it was found that Toomey had 9d. on her, and when asked by witness where she got it, she said 3d. was the produce of water-cresses she had sold in the morning, and 6d. was the produce of coals sold that day. The losses sustained by coal-merchants through these robberies were enormous.—The parents of Toomey and Riley appeared, and stated their children had never been in trouble before, and that they were not aware they were in the habit of committing these robberies.—Sir C. Marshall said, as Toomey appeared to be the worst in this transaction, he should send her to prison for 14 days, and the other two for 7 days each. Such practices on the banks of the river must be put a stop to, and he hoped that this would be a warning to them to follow some other occupation for the future".

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 4h

Isn't it just! What I wouldn't give to have been a fly on the wall for the census enumerator's encounter with Catherine Donovan...

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 6h

#31DaysofGraves Day 12: Notable Women
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797), political radical & author of "A Vindication of the Rights of Women".
Buried in St Pancras Gardens, London NW1 - originally the churchyard of Old St Pancras Church & a burial ground for the parish of St Giles-in-the-Field.

Black & white photograph of the headstone over Mary Wollstonecraft's grave in St Pacras Gardens.
The inscription gives her name as Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, reflecting her marriage in 1797 to William Godwin.

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 19h

Evening sky over the A11 Mile End Road as William Gladstone says hello

Photo of scattered cloud formations in the evening sky over,Mile End Road, London

Silhouetted photo of the statue of William Gladstone, outside Bow Church, London

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 1d

I grew up in Cahersiveen, one of the towns on the Ring of Kerry. It's a wonderful base for exploring fascinating history (& scenery) in the locality eg Valentia Island where the first transatlantic cable was laid, the extraordinary early Christian site on Skellig Michael. Forts, castle ruins & more!

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 1d

Two of my happiest places!

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 1d

Exactly my thoughts! Only found it by chance this morning while prep'g for upcoming TNA schools event on late 19th Whitechapel/east London.
Think I'll do a trawl through newspaper archives & other census years in the hope of finding more traces of Catherine Donovan 🤞

bsky.app/profile/n16b...

N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 14d

Know someone doing one of the GCSE History modules about Whitechapel & migration?
Check out @nationalarchives.gov.uk.web.brid.gy online event for schools Mon 13 Oct - I'll be talking about Irish migration & the 1888 Matchwomen's Strike #IrishLondonHistory☘️
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/se...

Detail of the National Archives' cartoon image illustrating "Archives Live! Whitechapel" - a special live event from The National Archives. Detail shows a Bryant and May matchbow beside an image of a young woman-girl matchmaker

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Reposted by N16Breda Corish

King's College London, History Department @kingshistory.bsky.social · 2d

See the fantastic work of our colleague Alana Harris @dralanagharris.bsky.social on the history of Horton cemetery #Epsom #London
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#WorldMentalHealthDay

'Grandad is one of 9,000 buried in Epsom's derelict Horton Cemetery'

The Friends of Horton Cemetery wants the site to be a memorial to those buried there.

www.bbc.co.uk

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 1d

One for you @robertsaunders.bsky.social

N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 1d

Here's something I've never seen before in London's census records. #IrishLondonHistory ☘️
In 1881, 55 year old Catherine Donovan - born in Ireland & living in St.George-in-the-East with her Irish husband, 5 sons and 1 daughter - gave her occupation as "Home Ruler".
"(British)" was added after it.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/7572/records/15248931

Screenshot from the 1881 Census for 7 Russell Court, in the parish of St. George-in-the-East (RG 11/457). Shows the entry for the Donovan family where Catherine Donovan, wife of Timothy Donovan (Labourer in Soap Works) and mother of five sons & 1 daughter, gives her occupation as "Home Ruler".
That is followed by the word "(British)" in brackets. This is in different handwriting so appears to have been added afterwards.

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 1d

Would that we could all be Ladies of Independent Means! 😀

N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 1d

#31DaysofGraves Day 11: Military
Irish soldier Robert Boyd (1805-31) of Derry, buried inside the walls of Malaga's old English Cemetery. Executed for his role in the failed uprising of 1831 by Spanish liberal General José María de Torrijos y Uriarte against the autocratic King of Spain Ferdinand VI

Photograph taken inside the walls of the original English Cemetery in Malaga. A plaque attached to the wall & a faded wreath on the ground mark the grave of Robert Boyd.
The foreground shows two graves decorated with scallop shells, a common sight in this Cemetery.

Picture of Robert Boyd reproduced in the guide to Malaga's English Cemetery.
You can read an account of Boyd's life here
https://irelandxo.com/ireland/derry-0/news/robert-boyd-local-hero-and-freedom-fighter-malaga-spain

Monument to BOYD erected in the ground of Malaga's English Cemetery

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Reposted by N16Breda Corish

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 2d

Printing presses kept their letters in cases.

Capital letters went in the upper case.
Smaller letters went in the lower case.

This is why we say ‘UPPER CASE’ and ‘lower case.’

Ok, but what did we call them before the invention of the printing press?

MAJUSCULE and minuscule.

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 1d

Here's something I've never seen before in London's census records. #IrishLondonHistory ☘️
In 1881, 55 year old Catherine Donovan - born in Ireland & living in St.George-in-the-East with her Irish husband, 5 sons and 1 daughter - gave her occupation as "Home Ruler".
"(British)" was added after it.

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 1d

A very evocative phrase seen in the occupations listed for the residents of St Botolph Aldgate, London in the 1881 census. 46 year old Abraham Keys was a "Nurse of the sick & watcher of the dead". His 38 year old wife Sarah Keys was also a "watcher of the dead".

Screenshot of a detail from 1881 census return for St Botolph Aldgate, London showing two entries for the occupations "Nurse of the sick & watcher of the dead" and "watcher of the dead"
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/7572/records/14829222

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 2d

#31DaysofGraves Day 10: Urn
An avenue of draped urns in Abney Park Cemetery, London N16

Black/white photograph showing four funerary plinths topped with draped urns. Seen in Abney Park Cemetery, Stoke Newington, London N16

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 2d

Oh amazing! "We’ve published every single edition of Jackie here at The Archive, running from 1964 through to 1993." - British Newspaper Archive

Petra Boynton @petraboynton.bsky.social · 3d

The British Newspaper Archive now includes Jackie and I was delighted to note problem pages in prominent position blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2025/10/06/j...

Hot Off The Press – New Titles This Week

We welcome iconic best-selling teen magazine Jackie to The Archive. Browse every single edition of the weekly magazine for girls, from 1964 through to 1993.

blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 2d

#31DaysofGraves Day 9: Hand
Seen on the 1788 gravestone of William Clement - a Dyer - in Greyfriars Burial Ground, Perth. Scotland.

Photograph of the the 1788 gravestone of William Clement - a Dyer - in Greyfriars Burial Ground, Perth, Scotland.
A hand & a shears appear in the middle. An angel head & wings on the top. Memento mori symbols - a skull, crossbones, an hourglass - on the bottom.
https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/perth/greyfriars/index.html

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Reposted by N16Breda Corish

N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 4d

#31DaysofGraves Day 8: Glass
On the old quarantine station of Grosse Île in Quebec's St Lawrence River, glass panels in the Irish Cemetery memorialise 5000+ Famine migrants from Ireland who died here during the terrible summer of 1847.
Many names are listed, others are "Unknown but not forgotten".

Photograph of part of the Irish Memorial on Grosse Île. Glass panels are inscribed with the names of those known to have died here in 1847 & who are buried in the field seen through the glass.
Anonymous deaths here from 1847 are described as "Unknown but not forgotten, your identity not yet surrendered from the past"
Artwork designed jointly by the artist Lucienne Cornet & architects France Laberge and César Herrera of the Émile Gilbert et associés architectural firm
https://www.luciennecornet-art.com/project/memorial-irlandais/

Photograph of part of the Irish Memorial on Grosse Île. Glass panels are inscribed with the names of those known to be buried in the field seen through the glass.

Photograph of the Parks Canada sign saying (in English & French) "Grosse Île & the Irish Memorial - National Historic Site of Canada"

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Reposted by N16Breda Corish

Paintings of London @paintingsoflondon.bsky.social · 4d

'The Port of London' (1920-24) by William Patrick Roberts

(Tate)

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 4d

Autumn colours in Abney Park Cemetery today 🍂🍃🍂

Enhanced colour photograph of two tall grave memorials covered in green & red Virgina creeper. Seen in Abney Park Cemetery, London N16 this morning.

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 4d

I can't be the only person incapable of looking at this footage without hearing Del Boy say "brace yourself Rodney"

Office of Public Works @opwireland.bsky.social · 4d

St Patrick’s Hall in Dublin Castle is getting ready to welcome Ireland’s 10th President this November!
Go behind the scenes as chandeliers, some with over 500 pieces of crystal, are carefully lowered, cleaned, polished, & winched back into place. This painstaking process takes 2 weeks to complete!

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 4d

#31DaysofGraves Day 8: Glass
On the old quarantine station of Grosse Île in Quebec's St Lawrence River, glass panels in the Irish Cemetery memorialise 5000+ Famine migrants from Ireland who died here during the terrible summer of 1847.
Many names are listed, others are "Unknown but not forgotten".

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N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 4d

Something beautiful to start the day - L'abbé Agathon · Maria Listra · Tallinn Chamber Orchestra · Tõnu Kaljuste · Arvo Pärt
youtu.be/61iSKvuj-iU?...

L'abbé Agathon

YouTube video by Release - Topic

youtu.be

N16Breda Corish @n16breda.bsky.social · 4d

What an evening at the Barbican last night 😍 A celebration of 90 years of Arvo Pärt with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra & a truly breathtaking performance by soprano Maria Listra

Photograph of the stage at the Barbican showing Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra & conductor Tõnu Kaljuste at the end of their performance
https://www.barbican.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/2025-10/Estonian%20PCC%20Pa%CC%88rt%20for%20web.pdf

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Reposted by N16Breda Corish

Ruhrlaubszeit @ruhrlaubszeit.bsky.social · 5d

#31DaysOfGraves Tag 7: Engel / Angel. Vermutlich auf dem Melatenfriedhof von Köln.

Grün patinierte Bronzefigur eines trauernden Engels, der auf einem Kreuz sitzt, umgeben von dichtem Farnwuchs.

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