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Information overload.

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  HED Map Viewer 2024 (arcgis.com) The map showing archaeological sites here in Northern Ireland that I used in my last piece is well worth a mention in its own right (see the link at the top of this page).  It is a government site, but is open to the public, so there are no issues in using it.  There are many layers, from ones showing shipwrecks and aircraft crashes, to historic maps, battle sites, and even lidar surveys in some areas.   Pick on  a link that interests you, and click in.  There are often further links to other sites and even back to the original archaeological reports on many of them.  To those who don't live in Northern Ireland, sorry, you will have to find something similar for your own locality.  But here, there is a real warren of interesting information and links that will keep anyone with an interest occupied for hours. Many of the sites local to me I knew about, but there are a few that are new to me, including an intr...
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Welcome

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Welcome to Old Ireland.   My initial idea for this site was to cover only classic vehicles, but since classicireland.ie was already taken and the best alternative I could find was this one, my thoughts for the site began to broaden.   A lot of the inspiration for this comes from the few magazines for which I have written articles.   Let’s get these mentioned early, because you should not be surprised to see a little of their influence here.   Real Classic is subscription only in print, but also has an excellent site at https://www.real-classic.co.uk/ , where Frank, Rowena and a host of writers entertain and inspire.   Then there is Minnesota Motorcycle Monthly, formerly in print monthly, but now only on line at http://mnmotorcycle.com / (unfortunately now obsolete.  You will need to use the Wayback machine to find it).   MMM’s archives could keep you reading happily for months, and the like it or not truths told by Thomas Day (Geezer with a grudg...
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Local History of the worst possible kind! The story of Carnage Hill.

This post was shamelessly copied from a local history book, now out of print, that used to be available in pdf format on line.     It is only one section of a much larger and more broadly based book.  All credit is then due to the book's author, and to the team who originally published it.  Trinity College, Dublin have now scanned an published a host of records from the 1641 rebellion.  More details relating to the numerous massacres and other events from the this rebellion can be seen here: https://1641.tcd.ie/ Those who have travelled the main road between Bangor and Belfast will know the corner known as ‘the Devil’s Elbow’, which is located just before the junction leading to Seahill/ Rockport.   On the left side of the road when travelling from Bangor there is a small road leading up into the Holywood hills.   It is now called Carney Hill, but according to this article that name derives from Carnage Hill.   To see where it got this ...
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It's a strange world.

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 So Donny got shot in the ear.  I'll not make the comment that I have heard from some over here about the accuracy of the gunman.  No one deserves to be shot, not even Trump.  Perhaps it will make him a little open to arguments about gun control in the states.  I'm pretty sure that the founding fathers vision of the right to carry arms didn't include assault rifles, and that they would never have considered putting the right to carry into the US constitution if they had been able to imagine such weapons. Anyway, I'm sure you have seen some of the ridiculous side stories that have appeared as a result of Donny's ear piercing?  Perhaps he got shot because he was just too slow to react when his secret service guards shouted, "Donald, duck!" 1)   Trump supporters have started wearing bandages on their ears as a show of support!  I have to admit that I did a double take on this when I first saw it.  It is a sign of their love apparently!...
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With Hindsight

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 See also:  Rogue State? (oldandireland.blogspot.com) And:  Two Wrongs……. (oldandireland.blogspot.com) So we have reached the one year mark in Israel’s conflict in Gaza.   Time for a little reflection. 1)     After the original and totally horrific Hamas attack, questions were asked about how the Israeli security agency had apparently managed to completely miss all the preparations that must have been necessary for the attack.   I must point out here that I am making no excuses for the Hamas attack.   It was brutal, appalling, inhuman (continue to insert your own descriptives here, none of them will fully describe just how wrong the Hamas attack was).   Any questions raised about the Israeli security agency seem to somehow to have been lost in the brutality and genocide that have happened since the original attack. I was wondering about this though.   The agency that managed to miss a Hamas breakout of that size, does not sound ...
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More of the same.

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 Sorry, I seem to be posting a lot about this conflict, but this is worth viewing, and if you are not in the UK, you may not have seen this issue.  Good journalism on the part of Paraic O'Brien.  Scary stuff! Hardline Israeli settlers gather to plan future homes in Gaza strip – Channel 4 News
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Goodbye big brother.

  My brother died just before new year.   He was only 14 months older than me, and died from a heart attack, so from a self-preservation perspective alone that is pretty worrying. I got a call from his work early one morning to say that he had not weighed in for work, so I had the unenviable task of going to his house to check up on him.   After a few access issues, I found him collapsed and plainly dead for some time on his kitchen floor.   In later life he wasn’t the fittest of people since he exercised little.   He also chain smoked, which probably didn’t help him either.   There were reasons for his withdrawal from the world which I will write of later, but still, I was not expecting this.   ☹ My brother came in two distinct versions during his life, and I can place the cause of the change between these two fairly accurately.   From an early age he wanted to join the army, so while still in his teens, and as soon as he could break free of ...
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A Mans Work is never done

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  I mentioned previously that we built an extension onto our house last year.   The work only finished around the start of November, so this summer there has been some remedial work to be done outside.   Before I get into the project at hand, a little background info might make me reasoning clearer.   Our house was built in the early 1960’s, and when we first moved in everything needed to be done.   There was no central heating, the kitchen was the original early 60’s one, no insulation, etc. etc.   At the edge of the front driveway, someone had built (very badly) a raised flower bed with two rows of old granite cobble stones.   It was just the right height so that the car door banged on it every time we parked in the narrow drive, so it had to go.   Meanwhile in the back garden was a large mound that was covered with weeds.   I presumed it was just soil or perhaps builder’s rubble.     When I eventually got time to dea...
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Living with a 1974 BMW R75/6

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This article was originally published in the paper version of Real Classic Magazine in November 2017(There is a link to their web page on the links sidebar).  The magazine version of this article is much better laid out than I can manage here, but the info is the same.  If you are considering long term ownership of an airhead, then hopefully a) you won't have a 1974 bike, and b) there might be something in here that you find useful.  Since I recently wrote about a starter motor problem I had had with this bike, I thought you all might enjoy the bikes back story.  It's a bit of a love/ hate thing.  Enjoy. _________________________________ There has been a lot written about BMW airheads in the last few years.   So, in the spirit of if you can’t beat them, join them, here are a few thoughts from my own perspective. Firstly, a bit about my own bike; a picture or two of which might even decorate/ desecrate these pages.   I boug...
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