This spring marks 280 years since the capture and execution of William Crotty, the famed highwayman better known as Crotty the Robber. Crotty, somewhat of a Robin Hood figure in folklore, enjoyed an estimated five-year criminal reign in Waterford, Kilkenny and Tipperary from his stronghold in the Comeragh mountains.
Growing up in the 1960s was a magical time when I think of all the friendly faces that once dotted the countryside and like the wildflowers of the summer have now passed on through the passages of time. Back then, it was not uncommon to hear both men and women who were on bicycles or walking the country roads, singing or whistling a tune as they went on their way. Something you don’t hear today.
Hollywood heart-throb, Cary Grant was born Alec Leach on 18th January 1904 in Bristol, England. His mother was Elsie Maria, his father Elias James Leach who worked in a factory. Although Cary left school at 14, he was an avid reader all his life. In his youth he joined a troupe of knockabout comedians, where he learnt acrobatics and pantomime. After performing in London Music Halls, in 1920 he emigrated to the US where he appeared on Broadway in the show “Good Times”.
