Sat Aug 7

Echoes of the Zulu Wars in West Cork – Robert Harris

Robert Harris is co-writer – with Finola Finlay – of the arts and culture blog Roaringwater Journal which covers mainly West Cork history, archaeology, art, landscape and nature and can be found here: Roaringwater Journal

A now retired architect, Robert has lived overlooking Rossbrin Cove for a decade and admires the ruins of the O’Mahony castle at Rossbrin, the 15th century home of the clan Tánaiste Finghinn – known as the ‘scholar prince’. Finghinn gathered around him scribes and bards and created a great centre of learning on this now remote headland. Robert does not claim to be a ‘learned’ expert, but sets out to be an enthusiast, something which is perhaps vindicated by the 850 posts which Roaringwater Journal has published since its advent in 2012. A few years ago, Maura Cahalane – then Chair of the Skibbereen Historical society – asked Robert to investigate the part played by some West Cork residents in the Zulu Wars of 1879. This gave rise to the talk presented here: a new interest was born.