Irish Heritage News

17/07/2026

Did you know Daniel O'Connell's heart has been missing for 100 years?

When Daniel O'Connell was dying in 1847 in Genoa, Italy, he wished for his body to be buried in Ireland, his heart to be sent to Rome and his soul to heaven. His body was returned to Ireland and buried in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, while his embalmed heart was taken to Sant'Agata de’ Goti (Church of the Goths) – which was then the church of the Irish College in Rome. O'Connell's heart is believed to have been placed in an urn and later behind a marble plaque fixed to the wall of the church, where visitors could pay their respects.

In the 1920s, as the Irish College prepared to leave Sant'Agata de’ Goti, plans were made to take O'Connell's heart to its new home. But when the marble plaque was removed, the heart was nowhere to be found. At the time, work was taking place next door, with the Bank of Italy encroaching on space under the church. It remains unclear what happened to O'Connell's heart – and to this day, it remains missing.

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16/07/2026

The history of the Grand Canal can now be explored through an interactive digital map that traces the route from Dublin’s docklands to Shannon Harbour using archival material and multimedia content. Read more 👇

The history of the Grand Canal has been brought to life through an interactive digital map developed by Waterways Ireland.

13/07/2026

The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland released a further 194,000 historical records on Tuesday, 30 June, bringing the total number of freely available records on the online resource to 544,000. Among the newly available material are records relating to medieval poachers, the taxation of potatoes in 1692, the mysterious Connaught Worm and Irish support for the American rebels in 1776. Like the rest of the records in the Virtual Treasury, the newly released material consists of replacement records, including transcripts and copies, identified in more than 100 partner archives, libraries and other repositories in Ireland and overseas. Read more 👇
https://irishheritagenews.ie/virtual-record-treasury-of-ireland-adds-194000-records-taking-total-past-half-million/

09/07/2026

Would you believe that the world's largest hydroelectric power station opened in Ireland in 1929?

The Shannon Hydro-Electric Scheme began in 1925 and was one of the largest engineering projects of its kind in its day. The scheme was the brainchild of Irish engineer Thomas McLaughlin, who worked for the German firm Siemens. At its peak, around 5,000 people were employed in the construction of the Shannon Scheme, including hundreds of German engineers, foremen and other skilled workers, alongside thousands of Irish labourers and engineers. When its hydroelectric power station at Ardnacrusha opened in 1929, it was the largest hydroelectric station in the world – a remarkable achievement for the young Irish Free State. The Shannon Scheme transformed Ireland and by 1935 it was generating around 80% of the country's electricity.

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07/07/2026

Nearly 200,000 newly released historical records have pushed the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland beyond the half-million mark, while a new initiative aims to uncover Ireland’s documentary heritage in French archives. Read more 👇
https://irishheritagenews.ie/virtual-record-treasury-of-ireland-adds-194000-records-taking-total-past-half-million/

Nearly 200,000 newly released historical records have pushed the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland beyond the half-million mark.

02/07/2026

A new exhibition at Dublin Port is highlighting the stories of more than 900 shipwrecks that lie beneath the waters of Dublin Bay. 👇
https://irishheritagenews.ie/shipwrecks-of-dublin-bay-exhibition-opens-at-dublin-port/

A new exhibition at Dublin Port is highlighting more than 900 shipwrecks that lie beneath the waters of Dublin Bay.

01/07/2026

Did you know there are more people buried in Glasnevin cemetery (1.6 million) than currently living in Dublin city and county combined (less than 1.5 million)?

Glasnevin cemetery was established in 1832 as a non-denominational cemetery by Daniel O’Connell and today covers 140 acres – the equivalent of nine times Croke Park.

Dublin Cemeteries Trust has maintained meticulous records for Glasnevin. Initially, only basic details were recorded, including the deceased's first name and surname, last known address, age, grave location and date of burial.

From 1872 onwards, the cemetery began recording much more detailed information, including address where the death took place, burial plot number, date of death, date of burial (sometimes even the time of burial), religion, occupation, marital status, cause of death, who informed the cemetery of the death and the date that the issuing order for burial was made.

Glasnevin is the final resting place of Michael Collins, Éamon de Valera, Constance Markievicz, Maud Gonne MacBride, Brendan Behan, Roger Casement, Grace Gifford, Liam Whelan and Charles Stewart Parnell. In his book, however, Warren Farrell turns his attention to the lesser-known people buried in Glasnevin and the stories they left behind.

Find out more 👇
https://irishheritagenews.ie/tour-guide-warren-farrell-tells-forgotten-tales-of-glasnevins-dead-in-book/

30/06/2026

Earlier this year, Skibbereen Heritage Centre added substantially to its Cork Graveyards Database, bringing the total to 109,385 burial records from over 170 graveyards throughout the county. All are free to search online. The most recent additions to the long-running digitization project relate to North Cork and include burial records from the following graveyards:

Ballinakill, Ballyhooly, Ballynoe, Boherbue, Bridgetown, Brigown, Britway, Carrigdownane, Castlelyons New Cemetery, Derryvillane, Dromtarriffe New Cemetery, Dunmahon, Gortroe, Kilbrin, Kilcrumper Old Graveyard, Kilcummer, Kildorrery, Kilgrogan, Killabraher, Killathy, Killavullen New Cemetery, Kilphelan, Kilroe, Knawhill, Mourneabbey (The Abbey Cemetery) and St Gobnait’s (Gouldshill, Mallow).

Find out more: https://irishheritagenews.ie/110000-cork-burial-records-searchable-online-for-free/

Or search Cork Graveyards Database: https://graveyards.skibbheritage.com/Search.aspx

Skibbereen Heritage Centre

Skibbereen Heritage Centre has added 26 North Cork cemeteries to its graveyard database in its latest burial record release.

26/06/2026

Did you know that, in modern history, the whole island of Ireland was united for one day?

When the Irish Free State was established on 6 December 1922, the six counties of the North were part of the new state. However, the Anglo-Irish Treaty included a provision that allowed them to opt out of the new state within one month of its creation.

The very next day, 7 December 1922, the Parliament of Northern Ireland voted to exercise that right and formally requested that it remain part of the United Kingdom.

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25/06/2026

Almost 110,000 burial records from Cork are now searchable online for free. Skibbereen Heritage Centre added 26 North Cork cemeteries to its graveyard database in its latest burial record release.

Find out more 👇
https://irishheritagenews.ie/110000-cork-burial-records-searchable-online-for-free/

Or search Cork Graveyards Database 👇
https://graveyards.skibbheritage.com/Search.aspx

Skibbereen Heritage Centre