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An Eternal Stranger: Harman Blennerhassett
Like mournful echo from the silent tomb, That pines away upon the midnight air, Whilst the pale moon breaks out with fitful gloom, Fond memory turns, with sad but welcome care, To scenes of desolation and despair, Once bright with all that beauty could bestow, That peace could shed, or youthful fancy know. From The Deserted Isle, by Margaret Blennerhassett. Harman Blennerhassett was a clever but eccentric Irish republican who "married" his niece, became involved in an abortive but notorious plot to make Texas independent, and ended up buried in Guernsey.find out more
What Sarah Fyers saw from a window in Gibraltar
Sarah Fyers was with her father with the garrison in Gibraltar in 1801, a few days before her wedding to Cornelius Mann, when she witnessed the first part of the Battle of Algeciras from the breakfast room. A handwritten copy of her eyewitness account is in the Dobree-Mann collection held at the Library. She was a close relation by marriage of James de Saumarez, who played a crucial part in the battle and eventual victory.find out more







