Hell-Fire Club interviews with BBC

I've been away with work and research, but still super enthused about the Hell-Fire Clubs! The media types quite like the story as there are lots of spooky myths relating to the club sites.

Read all about it here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-37609835

Hear all about it here:
https://soundcloud.com/tierneae/hell-fire-club-interview

Where spelunking and speleology meet

Not really, but I love those words, spelunking and speleology. Rolls off the tongue better than "archaeological site recording at a listed artificial commercial cave site".

I was recently back at the Hell-Fire Caves to make some additional notations to my laser scan data. Thanks to fellow PG Charlie Goudge for bed, board &; survey assistance (and photos!). Her granny joined us half way through for a visit, which was a first. More fieldwork should feature grannies.

The more times I'm in the "Childrens Cave", the creepier it gets

Patronising Poet

Those eighteenth-century dudes really knew how to make a lady feel special. Paul Whitehead, famed for his associations with the Hell-Fire Clubs was no exception. He cared so much for the fairer sex that he wrote a song, literally addressed to the ladies. *player*

My favourite bits are from the first and last stanzas:

Bright eyes were intended to languish, not stare,
And softness the test of your sex...

But, if Amazon-like, you attack your Gallants,
And put us in fear of our lives,
You may do very well for Sisters and Aunts,
But, believe me, you'll never be Wives, Poor Girls...

Read the full poem here. If you aren't familiar with old type formatting, just imagine most of the "f"s are actually "s".

Look at him, pointing out how to be a "lady"

Limerick Hell-Fire Club

While back home, I was lucky enough to get a trip out to Askeaton Co. Limerick. Work is currently under-way restoring Askeaton Castle, but funding has run out on the 18th Century build beside it, the Limerick Hell-Fire Club. It is such a shame, as the building really needs some serious TLC. Very unusual in design and one of only two buildings in the country associated with the Hell-Fire Clubs, it looks like the heritage board just don't see it as a priority. The town is more famous for its island Castle, initially built in the late 12th century, the majority of the building now dates to the 15th century and was in use until Cromwellian forces dismantled it in the late 17th century.

The Limerick Hell-Fire Club: