Two lovely recent pieces from Irish Heritage News, one on the fox in Irish folklore and another on the discovery of a 2000 year old (charred) fig found in north Dublin which offers insights into Ireland's trading links with the Roman world.

For something completely different, we head for the blog of Festival contributor and RTE's The History Show presenter Myles Dungan who wrote a fascinating piece on PG Wodehouse, focused on the author's years as a prisoner of the Nazis. The five German radio broadcasts Wodehouse made during that time led to allegations of collaboration and after the war had ended, Wodehouse never returned to England.

We've visited the Ulster Museum's Troubles and Beyond exhibition in Belfast a few times, but this exhibition is also available online. It includes an overview timeline and oral histories, but also focuses on key objects and images from the Museum's collections. The very powerful image above is included in the exhibition and shows the Hemsworth family leaving their home in the aftermath of the burning of Bombay Street in west Belfast after sectarian attacks in 1969. Remarkably, the TV depicted being carried by a family member is also in the exhibition.

And finally, another Ulster Museum exhibition (it's actually just closed but will re-open soon at the Public Record of Northern Ireland). It focuses on David Strain and his shed at Oughley Hill on the outskirts of Belfast. Strain was both a dutiful son from a religious background working in the family linen business while spending evenings and weekends at his shed where he created a a sanctuary for gay men. His diaries were deposited in The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland after he died of a stroke in 1969, and they have given valuable insights into his life and the lives of gay men in Northern Ireland.