Society for Old Lucan (SOL)

SOL Blog

  • The Elizabeth Vesey’s of Lucan by Aoife Tierney

    The Elizabeth Vesey’s of Lucan by Aoife Tierney

    Elizabeth Vesey 1715-1791 Elizabeth Vesey was the daughter of Rt. Rev. Sir Thomas Vesey, 1st Bt. and Mary Muschamp. In 1731 at 16, she married William Handcock, (son of /William Handcock and Susan Warburton) who died in 1741. In 1746, she married her cousin, Agmondisham Vesey, (son of Rt. Hon. Agmondisham Vesey and Jane Pottinger).… Read more

  • A survey of Lucan from 1680! Can you help us recognise anything?

    A survey of Lucan from 1680! Can you help us recognise anything?

    By Helen Farrell & Aoife Tierney, SOL Committee. In 2021, soon after Covid restrictions lifted, I [HF] visited the National Library to access some of the Vesey Papers in the Manuscript room. I was extremely excited to find the 1699 map of Lucan, but another fascinating document was in the bundle, namely: An accompt of… Read more

  • The Release of the 1926 Census by Mary Jackson

    The Release of the 1926 Census by Mary Jackson

    It’s fair to say that no one in my family was surprised to hear that, at precisely 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, 18 April 2026, I was sitting with my laptop open, ready to dive into the newly released 1926 Census records the very moment they became available. And I was not disappointed.  It was quite… Read more

  • Who Lies Beneath? The Purefoy Family Vault in Lucan, by Raymond Stallings

    Who Lies Beneath? The Purefoy Family Vault in Lucan, by Raymond Stallings

    In a quiet medieval graveyard associated with the ruins of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) in Lucan stands a substantial rectangular, flat-roofed stone vault surmounted by decorative iron railings that discourage access to the roof slab. Its presence in a graveyard and its form makes clear that it is a burial vault,… Read more

  • LUCAN FRAMED PRINTS

    LUCAN FRAMED PRINTS

    Did you know you can support the work of SOL and get a beautiful, framed print, including local delivery for 35 euro? Order here: Products | Society of Old Lucan – see two examples below or contact us at oldlucan@gmail.com for commissions. Read more

  • ONLINE LECTURE: THE POWER OF THREE – SOL GUEST LECTURES THE IAI DEC 2025!

    ONLINE LECTURE: THE POWER OF THREE – SOL GUEST LECTURES THE IAI DEC 2025!

    Paul Butler (SOL Chair) Jonathan Cully (SOL Secretary and founder of Lucan Memorial Campaign) and me (Helen FArrell) were invited to deliver a guest lecture for the Institutes of Archaeologists of Ireland (IAI) in December 2025, as part of their CPD series! We called our talk “The Power of Three” and each of us took… Read more