William started us off on his fascinating tour of the south of Ireland with a look at Newgrange, a neolithic burial site in Co. Meath, which at 3200BC is older than Stonehenge!

We then moved to Dublin with references to the Normans, the Crusades, George Frederic Handel and the first performance of his famous oratorio ‘Messiah’ performed in Dublin on April 13, 1742.

William touched on the Easter Rebellion of 1916 and the extensive damage caused by a gunboat shelling the centre of the city.

We were taken to Glendalough, a religious site dating from the 6th Century and then continued the tour taking in Vikings, site of a King’s Palace, Gothic Architecture, an ancient university,and locomotives restored by Alan Keef Ltd, accompany local to Ross-on-Wye.

We also learned of the accidental brewing of the first glass of Guinness. The talk was illustrated both by slides and random stories of the beautiful places and interesting people William encountered in his childhood.

At the end of his talk William opened the floor to questions which he answered generously and thoroughly. He was then thanked for his time and given warm applause from the members. We look forward to part two in due course.

Vaga Probus is a men’s group that meets twice a month in Ross. Visitors are very welcome, please contact the secretary on 01452 831026 for details. Our website is vaga-probus-ross.org.uk.