A sixteenth century English royal seal showing Henry VIII standing on a ship with scepter and orb in hand at the @nlireland.bsky.social

An excellent talk well worth listening to given by Dr Paul Dryburgh, Medieval Records Specialist at The National Archives (UK), on the history of the medieval English colony in Ireland and the surviving documentary record: vimeo.com/event/510578...

A great seal depicting a child king enthroned in majesty at the @nlireland.bsky.social. This broken seal is attached to a writ in the name of King Edward, which in this case likely refers to the Yorkist pretender Lambert Simnel who was crowned as Edward VI in Dublin in May 1487.

More information on how to join this online talk here: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/whats-on/eve...

This Fri, 19 September: Join Paul Dryburgh, medieval collections specialist @nationalarchives.gov.uk.web.brid.gy, for "England's first colony: medieval Ireland, 1171-1500". An overview of English intervention in Ireland and its role in the political development of the British and Irish isles.

An illustration of Noah's ark in a fourteenth century Irish manuscript accredited to Ádhamh Ó Cianáin, a scholar from medieval Fermanagh, at the @nlireland.bsky.social. In the top left can be seen the dove (or 'colu[m]ba') carrying an olive leaf returning to the ark.

This wax impression is likely the oldest seal in the @nlireland.bsky.social, dating from the 1170s (and so only a few years after the Norman Invasion of Ireland). The legend around the circumference of the seal reads 'Seal of Richard Tirel' and it depicts Richard as a mounted knight.

A link to the online version: historyireland.com/a-sea-of-par...

Very happy to see this in print, an article I have written for History Ireland's new September/October issue called "'A Sea of Parchment' - Original Medieval Deeds in the National Library of Ireland" which provides a survey of the @nlireland.bsky.social large collection of medieval deeds.

Sharing the recording of the John Grove Memorial Lecture for 2025 I gave for the Mortimer History Society on the Irish Lieutenancy of Edmund, fifth earl of March and seventh earl of Ulster during 1423-1425: www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7ie...

Brilliant lecture. Thank you 😊

Very enjoyable lunchtime lecture today at the @nlireland.bsky.social speaking on the library's medieval deeds. Was excellent to see so many people in attendance and interested in medieval Irish manuscripts.

One of my favourite manuscripts at the @nlireland.bsky.social is this royal charter of Edward III to Mellifont Abbey from 1348 with a fantastic illuminated initial depicting the letter 'E'. To learn more about this manuscript come to my free lunchtime talk today: www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...

As part of #HeritageWeek, you can also join us for two related free talks: 1) In Strongbow's Shadow: Exploring Medieval Ireland in the NLI www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...

🛡️⚔️ Shields and Arms: Medieval Heraldry at the @nlireland.bsky.social Did you know that the National Library of Ireland has a rich collection of heraldic manuscripts and material, primarily dating from the early modern and modern periods? 🗡️ Learn more: www.nli.ie/news-stories...

'A Rain deers head'. Um, if you say so... (Funeral Entry of Col Hill, 1665, NLI)

Excited to share a new collaboration led by Dr Eamon Darcy @maynoothuniversity.ie‬ with ‪@ria.ie @dri.ie‬ The Molyneux Papers-20 vivid county descriptions from the 1680s online: virtualtreasury.ie/curated-coll... + 👀👇 ‪@rtebrainstorm.bsky.social‬ tinyurl.com/yc3b3tpa #IrishHistory 📷TCD Library

Only a few days until my free public lecture 'In Strongbow's Shadow' for Heritage Week in the @nlireland.bsky.social on Thursday 21 August at 1pm which explores the library's large collection of medieval deeds and charters. Booking is required: www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...

A finely detailed seal with a coat of arms belonging to Robert son of Maurice FitzRobert of Carnalwy. It is attached to a charter in the @nlireland.bsky.social from 1368 recording a grant of property in the parish of St Brigid in Dublin. Witnessing the grant is Peter Woder, mayor of Dublin.

Roundels with beautiful golden crowns in a manuscript in @nlireland.bsky.social showing the descent of the mythical kingdom of the Britons from Leyr to his daughter Cordeilla and then to his grandsons Morganus and Cunedagius, sons of Cordeilla's sisters. The basis for Shakespeare's King Lear.

Happy to share a new blog post I have written called 'Shields and Arms: Medieval Heraldry at the National Library of Ireland' which examines a fascinating fifteenth century heraldic volume at the @nlireland.bsky.social www.nli.ie/news-stories...

Really superb miniature showing Adam and Eve in an illuminated fifteenth century manuscript held at the @nlireland.bsky.social

Good impression of the seal of the town of Dundalk in County Louth from 1420 at the @nlireland.bsky.social Really interesting to see a spearman as one of the coat of arms "supporters" which was all too fitting as Dundalk was an English frontier town in the late medieval period.

Very excited to be giving the following public lecture during National Heritage Week on Thursday 21 August at the @nlireland.bsky.social on the library's extraordinary collection of medieval deeds and charters www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...

Fascinating - not least because the next earl of Ormond was the subject of one of the handful of 16th century portraits featuring a gun.

🏰 Publication day! 🏰 Delighted to see my new guide to the Medieval Walled Towns of Meath is now available to download from the @heritagecouncil.ie website. It was a fun project to work on, exploring the histories of Trim, Navan, Kells and Athboy. irishwalledtownsnetwork.ie/new-publicat...

When the deeds have eyes...really fantastic portraiture, possibly of Edward III, in a English royal charter sent to Ireland in 1375 at @nlireland.bsky.social The face is drawn into the loop of the h for hib[er]nie or Ireland, and has a rather Big Brother (or Edward) is watching you feeling.

In what may be the oldest depiction of a gun an Irish manuscript - an ink drawing of a musket on a @nlireland.bsky.social charter from 1543 from the earl of Ormond to a Martin Potercelo granting property in Kilkenny. Potercelo is described as a 'gonn-' or gonner (gunner) in the grant.

If you missed my IMC paper on rumours of Humphrey Duke of Gloucester's murder you can watch it on catch up here (registered delegates only). It was my first Leeds paper so if you have any criticism of it I would LOVE to hear it so I can get better next year. imc-leeds.confex.com/imc/2025/mee...

Looking forward to speaking at the @nlireland.bsky.social on a political scandal which occurred at Dublin Castle on 13 December 1380 when the Bishop of Cloyne attacked the earls of Ormond and Desmond before Edmund Mortimer, earl of Ulster, then Lieutenant of Ireland www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...

One day until tomorrow's online lecture!

This Thursday @nlireland.bsky.social: A Scandal at Mass The Eyewitnesses to a Fourteenth Century Controversy. Dr. @patrickmcdonagh98.bsky.social, Research Studentship, Dept of Manuscripts & Special Collections (& previous VRTI Researcher!) on political scandals of the late 14th century in Ireland!

A recording of my paper on Sir Thomas Mortimer and the Lords Appellant Revolt of 1387 for anyone at Leeds who missed my paper during #IMC2025 (only available to those registered for the conference) imc-leeds.confex.com/imc/2025/mee...

A week to go for this online lunchtime lecture I am giving for the National Library of Ireland on a major political controversy which gripped the English lordship of Ireland in the late fourteenth century.

Really impressive photography exhibition at the @spodemuseum.bsky.social showing the collection of Stoke-on-Trent photographer Donald Morris which stretch back to the 1950s and are a wonderful guide to the social and economic history of the city and its change over time.

A week to go for this online lunchtime lecture I am giving for the National Library of Ireland on a major political controversy which gripped the English lordship of Ireland in the late fourteenth century.

Looking forward to speaking next Wednesday at #imcleeds2025 in the 14th Century Society panel on the reign of Richard II with my paper examing Sir Thomas Mortimer and his role in the revolt of the Lords Appellant during 1387-88.

Looking forward to speaking in this evenings online conference hosted by the Mortimer History Society along with Simon Egan and @mattlewishistory.bsky.social

Really excited to be giving the John Grove Memorial Lecture for 2025 online on 2nd July on Edmund Mortimer, fifth earl of March, and his lieutenacy of Ireland during 1423-25 as part of the Mortimer History Society Spring Conference. #skyhistorians #skymedievalists

Really impressive early seal at the @nlireland.bsky.social belonging to a charter in which William de Braose granted land in Munster to Theobald Walter from around 1201. One of King John's henchmen, the king later had de Braose's wife and son starved to death at Windsor Castle.

Looking forward to speaking at the @nlireland.bsky.social on a political scandal which occurred at Dublin Castle on 13 December 1380 when the Bishop of Cloyne attacked the earls of Ormond and Desmond before Edmund Mortimer, earl of Ulster, then Lieutenant of Ireland www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...

Very impressive double sided seal of Gilbert de Clare, earl of Hertford and Gloucester, and lord of the liberty of Kilkenny, attached to a late 13th century deed at the @nlireland.bsky.social Worth noting how detailed the seal is, showing the Earl's chainmail, shield, and barding on his horse.

Delighted to see our (Brendan Twomey and myself) new Curated Collection on the Registry of Deeds up on @virtualtreasury.bsky.social virtualtreasury.ie/curated-coll.... @historytcd.bsky.social

A well preserved Irish Great Seal of Elizabeth I attached to a deed from 1597 at the @nlireland.bsky.social

Very impressive impression of the seal of the Liberty of Tipperary, attached to a court record from 1581, during the time of Thomas Butler, 10th earl of Ormond and lord of the Liberty of Tipperary, at @nlireland.bsky.social

'A Report of the Debate in the House of Commons ... on the Subject of an Union', is now up @virtualtreasury.bsky.social. Use the link below to explore two key debates on the Union of Great Britain and Ireland. The debates took place in Jan. and Feb. 1800. virtualtreasury.ie/item/PUB-PAR...

The seal of the office of the mayor of Waterford with a counterseal (on the back of the seal) attached to a deed from 1433 at @nlireland.bsky.social

A neat Elizabethean legal record (a final concord) made in the 'court of the lady Queen' or Queen's Bench at Westminster before the justices James Dyer, Roger Manwood, and Robert Mounson relating to properties in Shropshire and the city of London from 1577 at the @nlireland.bsky.social

The great seal of Edward IV attached to a royal charter from 1467 granting English legal status to an Irish woman, Sadhbh Kavanagh, at @nlireland.bsky.social

A good impression of the seal of Robert Herbrigg attached to a deed from 1412 at @nlireland.bsky.social. In what may be an example of Canting Arms (or a coat of arms which puns on its bearer's name), the seal has a hare on it in good detail (not least it ears).