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Dec 9, 2025
Historian Kevin Egan: 'The lives of largely forgotten figures can captivate more than those who remain household names'
Historian Kevin Egan: 'The lives of largely forgotten figures can captivate more than those who remain household names'
Irish Independent
Kevin Egan is a Dublin-born historian, with the Guinness family his specialist subject. He's curating a weekend event at Ashford Castle, December 12-14, with the descendants of the four main characters of Netflix's House of Guinness. See ashfordcastle.com
When I started the process for writing the life of Walter Guinness it made sense to examine how other biographies were composed. Of all those that I read, the one that kept drawing me in beyond my attempts to simply scrutinise the structure was Andrew Gailey's life of Lord Dufferin, an Anglo-Irish aristocrat from Co Down.
It was a compelling story that juxtaposed high politics and colonialism with the deeply personal, namely the umbilical bond between Lord Dufferin and his mother, Helen. First published 10 years ago, it's a reminder that the lives of largely forgotten figures can captivate more than those who remain household names.
TV: The Hills Are Alive
I initially dismissed this documentary series, The Hills Are Alive: A Year at Kylemore Abbey, assuming it would be either sanctimonious or saccharine; it was neither, it was just right. lthough it opens with scenes of the nuns praying and a background of Gregorian chanting, it quickly transitions to strains of The Lonely Goatherd from The Sound of Music when the vivacious Sr Magdalena FitzGibbon confesses it was her wish to become a rally driver in her youth. Perhaps the music unlocked something from my childhood?
I couldn't help but be impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit of the Benedictine sisters, but also deeply moved by their honesty about the realities of community life. It was humorous, humbling and heart-warming.
MUSIC: Cian Ducrot
Despite being a historian, I don't spend all of my time in the past. My musical tastes are broad and span the centuries, but currently I enjoy listening to the Irish artist Cian Ducrot. His music is uplifting and his 2025 single Who's Making You Feel It deserves the accolade of song of the year.
To my mind, Ducrot i
