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'An invaluable record of times past'.
That
was the verdict of the
Irish Independent
on the best-selling
'Vanishing Ireland:
Recollections of Our
Changing Times'.
Published in October 2011, this is
the third volume of the
acclaimed
'Vanishing Ireland' series by Turtle
Bunbury & photographer
James Fennell.
The book was the best-selling Picture
Book in Ireland over Christmas 2011,
with sales of over 13,000 to date. This
brings total sales for the 'Vanishing
Ireland' series to more than 62,000 books.
The
two
previous volumes were
shortlisted for the Irish
Published Book of the Year
at the
2007 and
2010
Irish Book Awards respectively.
Click here to Join the
'Vanishing Ireland' Facebook page.
The project is a collaboration
between
Turtle
and James and
accounts for nearly 200 insightful
& poignant portrait interviews with
the unsung elders of Irish society.
Blacksmiths,
saddlers, farmers,
fishermen and horse
dealers unite
with housemaids, lacemakers,
publicans, postmen and musicians
to bring to life a world
which
is fading fast.
An exhbition of photographs from the
project entitled 'Vanishing Carlow' will
be on show at the Visual Arts Centre in
Carlow from 9th June to 26th August 2012,
as part of the Éigse Carlow Arts Festival.
A six-week 'Vanishing Ireland' exhibition
at the Hunt Museum, Limerick
City, drew
over 11,000 visitors during Autumn 2011.
This coincided with the launch of the 3rd
volume of the series by
legendary
GAA
commentator Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh.
A second well-attended launch was held
at Dublin's
Hugh Lane Gallery.
The third print run of the first volume has
now sold out, but both the second
and third
volumes
are available in
bookshops
across Ireland or click here to
buy on Amazon.
(Photo: Suki Stuart).
Turtle Bunbury
is a best-selling
author and
historian
based in
Ireland.
His books include
the Vanishing
Ireland
series,
Sporting
Legends of Ireland,
The
Irish Pub &
Living in Sri Lanka.
This summer, Turtle will co-host the History
Festival of Ireland at Lisnavagh House,
County Carlow, on 9th & 10th June 2012.
The stellar line up includes
Ruth Dudley Edwards, Myles Dungan,
Kevin Myers, Diarmaid Ferriter,
David Norris, Patrick Geoghegan,
Manchán Magan,
Catriona Crowe,
Sr. Maura Duggan, Jeananne Crowley,
Robert
O’Byrne, Sean Duffy,
Marian Lyons,
Tom Sykes,
Fiona Fitzsimon, Eoghan Corry,
Michael Sheridan, Maurice Walsh,
Micheál Ó Siochrú, Joshua Levine,
Pat Wallace, Trevor White,
Paddy Cullivan, Martin Nevin,
Lar Joye, Edel Breathnach,
Tom Bartlett,
Lindzi Simpson,
Val Byrne, Ann Matthews,
Ricky O'Rawe, Alison Maxwell,
Marc-Ivan O'Gorman, Patrick Myler,
Turtle Bunbury
and Tommy Graham.
There will also be presentations by the
Federation of Local History Societies of
Ireland,
the Federation for Ulster Local
Studies, the Oral History Network of Ireland
and the
people behind Gathering Ireland
2013.
For further details, visit the website
www.thehistoryfestivalofireland.com
or
sign up to the
History Festival Facebook
page.
The festival is an Éigse 2012 initiative.
TURTLE AT LARGE
Turtle Bunbury's latest book Vanishing Ireland - Recollections of Our Changing Times was the best-selling picture book in Ireland over Christmas 2011.
Turtle is co-hosting the History Festival of Ireland at Lisnavagh House, County Carlow on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th June 2012.
Turtle is the author of nine published books, as well as over a dozen privately commissioned books. He runs Your History in a Book, researching and writing family histories for both Irish people and descendants of Irish emigres. His recent corporate clients include Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, Croke Park and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.
His work has been published in The Financial Times, The New York Post, The Irish Times, The Australian, The Mail & Guardian (South Africa), The South China Morning Post, The Irish Daily Mail, The Guardian, Vogue Living, The World of Interiors and Playboy. Recent articles include Life in Monaco (Ireland Funds Connect, Spring/Summer 2012), Tragedy of the Titanic (Ireland of the Welcomes, March 2012), West Coast Story (Ryanair Magazine, Jan-Feb 2012), the Life of Sir Richard Burton (Playboy, Nov 2011), the Legend of Ned Kelly (IDM, Sept 2011), George IV's bawdy trip to Ireland in 1821 (IDM, Aug 2011) and Obama's Irish Roots (Daily Mail, May 2011).
In April 2012 he was a judge for the Smedia Travel Awards. In February 2012, he was a guest blogger for the Discover Ireland website. In December 2011, he spoke with the Wild Geese Blog about the Vanishing Ireland project. He was one of the three judges for the Powers Whiskey Ireland's Best Snug competition in November 2011, which was won by the Dylan Whiskey Bar in Kilkenny City. Earlier that autumn, he was the Ireland Fund of Monaco's Writer-in-Residence at the Princess Grace Irish Library where he gave a talk on the Vanishing Ireland project. In 2011, international readers also enjoyed a four page feature by Turtle called Big House Hospitality, Hidden Ireland in Cara (Feb-March 2011), the Aer Lingus in-flight magazine, and a four page feature on Irish sporting icons in Ireland of the Welcomes (March-April 2011).
For an overview of his TV and radio highlights, click here.
THE GENEALOGY ROADSHOW
ON THE SCREEN
Turtle frequently lends his historical
expertise to documentaries and shows
such as 'The Genealogy Roadshow',
'Who Do You Think You Are?' and
'Wogan's Ireland' where he pondered the
drunkenness of the Jacobite troops at the
battle of the Boyne with Sir Terry Wogan.
In March 2012, viewers on RTE1 were treated to a repeat of 'The Genealogy Roadshow', the acclaimed four-part series which offers a hybrid of 'The
Antiques Roadshow' and 'Who Do You Think
You Are?' In each episode, Turtle teamed up with genealogists Nicola Morris and John
Grenham to investigate claims by people who believed they had famous or
infamous relatives, or that they were connected to a
historical event or ancient mystery. The series, which
originally aired on RTE1 in August and September
2011, was produced by award-winning Big Mountain and hosted by
Derek Mooney.
The
first Roadshow was filmed at
Adare Manor, Co.
Limerick, and attracted over 300,000 realtime viewers.
It
was Pick of the Day in The Irish Times, The Irish
Indpendent,
RTE Guide and The Sunday Times.
Subsequent episodes were filmed at Glenlo Abbey
(Co. Galway), Carton House (Co. Kildare) and
Slane Castle (Co. Meath).
Turtle Bunbury is the founder of Your History in a Book,
writing privately commissioned
corporate
and family histories.
Each history is extensively
researched, stylishly written
and
beautifully
produced as a leather-bound hardback "coffee table"
book,
including
family
photographs and interviews with
family members. The innovative concept
has
been
acclaimed
by international press
such as The Irish Times and The Australian.
SPORTING LEGENDS OF IRELAND
Turtle's 2010 book Sporting Legends of Ireland was nominated for the William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year Award 2010 and features portrait interviews with 44 icons of Irish sport including Olympic gold medallists Ronnie Delany, Michael Carruth and Mary Peters, GAA legends DJ Carey, Jack O'Shea and Mick O'Connell, equestrian giants Eddie Macken, Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh, and a host of champions such as Ken Doherty, Stephen Roche, Sonia O'Sullivan, Willie John McBride, Packie Bonner, Des Smyth and Barry McGuigan. Watch Turtle and James discuss the book on Ireland AM (TV3) or listen to their interviews with Darragh Maloney on RTE Radio One and Tom Dunne on Newstalk 106. An exhibition of photographs from the book by photographer James Fennell was on show at the Hunt Museum in Limerick City through much of 2011.
Join the
Vanishing Ireland
Facebook
page for
regular updates.
SPEAKER's CORNER
Aside from his 'Vanishing Ireland' and 'History of Ireland' talks, Turtle's 'Around the World in1847' offers a unique and lively historical insight into the state of our world in 1847. It was the eve of major revolutions across Western Europe, of devastating Black '47 when famine ravaged Ireland, of the great trek of the Mormons to Utah, of the extraordinary U.S. invasion of Mexico, of Britain's acquisition of Hong Kong, of Wuthering Heights and Vanity Fair, of Felix Mendlessohn and Pablo Fanque. Amongst the colourful characters profiled in his 1847 talk are some unlikely saviours of the famine-affected Irish (including the Sultan of Turkey and an American violinist who sailed across the Atlantic virtually single-handed), the Incredible Mr. Kavanagh (the Carlow man born without hands or feet who became a postman in India), Lola Montez (the Sligo woman who effectively became Queen of Bavaria), Sir Richard Burton (the eccentric explorer who translated the Kama Sutra) and a support cast that includes Bram Stoker, the Bronte sisters, the Mormons of Salt Lake City and the remarkable circus maestro Pablo Fanque.
Turtle also gave a talk on Vanishing Ireland at Clones Library in Monaghan (November 2011), to the Turf Grass Producers International in Dublin (October) and to friends of the Hunt Museum in Limerick City (September). In August 2011, he launched the opening exhibition of the Greenway Artists Project in Mulranny, Co Mayo, and talked family history with Daisy Banks of The Browser. Other events at which he has spoken lately include the Carlow Enterprise Awards 2011. In the autumn of 2012, he is due to give a talk on Irish country houses in Moscow.
TO BUY TURTLE'S BOOKS ONLINE CLICK ON AN IMAGE BELOW.
Dublin Docklands, The Landed Gentry & Aristocracy of County Wicklow and The Landed Gentry of County Kildare are all presently out of print.
This website has been compiled in the interest of furthering the research and study of both local and international history.
Main Site Sub-sections
History
- Irish History, Write around Ireland, House Histories,
Family Histories and Heros & Villains
Published Works
- Books, Interiors, Travel, Features, Columns &
Book Reviews.
Family History
- The history of the McClintocks, Bunburys, Drews, Colleys
and other families..
Interviews
- Meetings with Remarkable People..