Michael smiled as he sat in his old parish church, reflecting upon the tricks childhood memories play on adult minds. The building he had remembered as magnificent in his youth seemed small and only modestly impressive so many years later. He had for some time intended to go back to visit Father O’ Sullivan who still held the position of parish priest there. The opportunity presented itself when his work took him to the area where he had lived until he reached the age of sixteen.
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.
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”.
