Search Results for 'Napoleon'

SEQUELS TO hit childrens movies rarely go well. There are a lot more Madagascar 2s than Toy Story 3s. The fact that, rather than going down the traditional path of a third Despicable Me, a spin off of the film's most popualr characters, the minions, was planned, this reviewer was surprised but pleased.

On June 12 1922 a very special ceremony took place at Windsor Castle, near London. Following the establishment of the Irish Free State the previous December, five Irish regiments, including the Connaught Rangers, the Royal Irish, the Leinsters, the Munsters, and the Dublin Fusiliers, which had served the British army with exceptional valour at times, were disbanded. It was a day of special significance for both the participants and onlookers.

The one thing that distressed Prince Hermann von Puckler-Muskau, during his visit to Galway in the summer of 1828, was that ‘the dirt, the poverty, and the tattered clothing of the common man was beyond belief.’ He finds this hard to accept. He has just come from London, which was then possibly the most prosperous city in Europe, with its great shops, merchandise, theatre, and visitors. After Trafalgar (1805), British ships could sail the seas, and extend its empire unchecked; and after Waterloo (1815), its armies were triumphant and feared.

Most people were unsure how to take the arrival at the Galway Races in 1828 of the handsome Prince Hermann Ludwig Heinrich von Puckler- Muskau. Especially when they heard that he was looking for a wealthy wife.

That fellow Napoleon has an awful lot to answer for. Not satisfied with conquering the whole of Europe he has left a legacy that divides us from the Continent and indeed from most of the world.

That fellow Napoleon has an awful lot to answer for. Not satisfied with conquering the whole of Europe he has left a legacy that divides us from the Continent and indeed from most of the world.

In the late 18th and mid 19th centuries, at least 28 German travel writers wrote extensively about Ireland. I’ll tell some of what a few of them had to say in the weeks ahead, but by far the most colourful was Prince Hermann Ludwig Heinrich von Puckler-Muskau. He lived his 86 years to the full. As a dashing cavalry officer he fought against Napoleon until he inherited Muskau Park near Berlin to which he added brilliant landscapes and gardens. He searched for the source of the Nile, and fought off bandits in the deserts of North Africa. He walked through much of Europe, taking notes of his observations all of which were eventually published. In 1814 he visited England and delighted the dandy Prince of Wales by introducing the rectangular monocle. His struggle with the English language caused laughter in high society, and generally he was a source of amusement; but he seemed to have enjoyed himself immensely.*

On June 12 1922 a very special ceremony took place at Windsor Castle, near London. Following the establishment of the Irish Free State the previous December, five Irish regiments, including the Connaught Rangers, the Royal Irish, the Leinsters, the Munsters, and the Dublin Fusiliers, which had served the British army with exceptional valour at times, were disbanded. It was a day of special significance for both the participants and onlookers. It was reported in the London Times.

Against all the odds, the Hole in the Wall has been re-opened to the public as a wine bar and a stunningly intimate venue for musicians and theatrical escapades. The old house which was initially the inner section of an L-shaped mansion originally build by Martin Archer in 1582, has been lovingly restored to its former glory and today still looks as it might have looked in the 16th century.

There is a story about The Duke of Wellington and the Connaught Rangers. It may be apocryphal, but the point behind tells us a truth about ourselves - or something that was once true.