Donal McCracken

Early this morning in uMfolozi, Zululand. 36 elephant including a dozen young ones.

Today in 1927.. £8 receipt received from the Earl of Limerick for a One Year Subscription to "The County Club", Limerick City. #Limerick #OTD #History

@piratespenzanz PS he was born in Dublin not Lisburn, the son of a popular doctor. A plaque to the father is in St Ann's in Dawson Street.

1) Brigadier-General John Nicholson (1821–1857) 🗡️ The Hero of Delhi. Born in Lisburn, County Down, Nicholson joined the Bengal Infantry at 17. He fought at Ghazni in the First Afghan War (1839–42) and survived the retreat from Kabul.

@piratespenzanz He also vaccinated the population in Bannu. Was greatly respected in the hill country. He was no saint, but one must always look closely at detail when heros become villains. Most of the stories told against Nicholson are later inventions.

Speaking on James Joyce and the Pagan Soul of Publishers at the Cape Town Club last Friday evening.

Zululand stapelia discovered by Robert Plant early 1850s. When he died 1858 at St Lucia, martyr of botany, Dolly Plant sent to Durban Botanic Gardens. Flowered 1860. 1862 curator Mark McKen sent to Kew. Only described 1889. My specimen flower dies after only two days.

Great honour to have been invited to give the first Dermot Keogh Memorial Lecture and to launch The Irish Revolution: Diplomacy and Reactions 1919–1923. Dermot Keogh was a great scholar. An inspiring mentor. A devoted family man.   His influence and memory will always be with us

G20 brings the Taoiseach to Africa and Johannesburg & last night he was presented with an advance copy of Patricia McCracken & Sandren Naidoo's book 'Turning the Tide: The Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement'. Jacana Books. Ambassador Gormley on right. Powerful evening.

'The Prophet Ignoramus' (c1869/72) was a very libelous but highly amusing and now v rare pamphlet denouncing Governor Keate (Er Keet)of Natal (Ophir). I have after 25 years of searching acquired a copy of the scurrilous publication in Cape Town (where else).

@DuckettsGroveIE @carlowtourism @ancienteastIRL @CarlowHeritage @TourismIreland In 1916 Mrs Stewart Duckett of Russellstown Park was driven out of the Alexandra Club in Stephen's Green by insurgents. She claimed property worth £131 had been stolen from her trunks. What was her first name and what happened to her afterwards?

Wishing you all a very happy and peaceful Easter. 📷 The John Sweeney Collection/DuckettsGrove.ie @carlowtourism @ancienteastIRL @CarlowHeritage @TourismIreland

Launch in uMhlanga of 'Africa, Ireland & Beyond': Gabriel Makhlouf (Governor of Central Bank of Ireland); Cian O’Mahon; Dr Raymond Perrier (Director: Denis Hurley Centre, Durban); Patricia McCracken; Ambassador Gormley; Dr Kathlyn Cleland (Registrar: UKZN); & Donal McCracken

@dublin_damo Lived once at sea front at Kilcoole between the sea and the salt marsh or bog as we called it. House had been in the 1903 Cork Exhibition. Perfect pebble beach to run up a Viking long boat; 18th century ran horses to strengthen legs; site of 1914 gun running; marsh harriers ...

@Kiri_R_J Sounds like absolute heaven.

A PhD, during which you will get to use the archives of where I now work and where I used to work, a real archival treat 📚

New member of the McCracken household. Nine week old Iveagh is the 9th Weimaraner (Ireland and Africa) we have had since 1965, when our first came from Mary Donnelly's at Ballydonagh, the Glen of the Downs, County Wicklow. As long as she doesn't eat books, all will be fine.

Following the success of the Durban Botanic Gardens "Decolonising the DBG" conference to mark the gardens' 175th anniversary, Trail of Lights opens this week storage.googleapis.com/marketiq/134DA…

@RobLooseCannon Martha Magee was also responsible (£20,000) for the founding of Magee University College in Derry in 1865. It is one of the few historic Irish institutions named after a woman. The University of Ulster must retain the name.

The twin-towered Ormond Quay Presbyterian church is one of the great lost buildings of Dublin. Founded in 1847, during a time when Dublin hosted a significant congregation of Presbyterians, mainly of Scottish extraction. It was enlarged in 1859 to accommodate a then-growing community. The church was built using the bequest of Martha Maria Magee, a pious and wealthy widow originally from Lurgan in Armagh. The handsome place of worship with its two symmetrical spires was designed by architect Edward P. Gribbon. But in the resulting decades, the city saw huge social and political upheaval. There was an exodus of protestants out to the exclusive suburbs or back to Scotland or other parts of the UK. The religious landscape of Dublin dramatically changed. The once thriving Ormond Quay congregation was forced to merge with the Abbey Street congregation in 1938 to survive. The iconic Ormond Quay building became the Dublin City Mission of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland for a few years before packing up and selling the site to Dublin Corporation under compulsory purchase. Sadly, in the 1960s, the building was badly damaged by fire, forcing the elegant upper section to be demolished for safety reasons. The place lay in ruins for years. In the 1970s, there was even an attempt by property developers to erect a nine-storey block on the site, which would've imbalanced and dwarfed the entire neighbourhood. Thankfully, it was tastefully redeveloped into offices in 1989. The original ground floor facade, with its understated granite gothic arches and carved calligraphy, was preserved as part of the new office building. It's now named Grattan Bridge House.

Proud of my PhD student Takunda Maodza, from Harare, who graduated today. A former newsroom man, his excellent thesis was on former rough times in the Zim press.

On the trail of Ireland’s clubland irishtimes.com/opinion/letter…

Part of pro-Boer agitation sweeping Ireland at the time. Assistant Commissioner Mallon made the dry comment that the children were given 'moderate refreshment and unlimited treason'. It would appear some Dublin children were not politically on-message and went to both parties.

Very sorry to hear this. A productive enthusiast for botanical history. With my mother, Eileen McCracken, produced the definitive history of Glasnevin, The Brightest Jewel.