Books by Liam Muldowney

Containing over two decades of research, Near Dublin tells the story of the visits to Irish shores in the early 1950s of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Drawing on newspaper interviews, personal recollections and archive material, it follows their every move as they became a bit Irish for a small time. Find out what Oliver Hardy thought of the selection of Whiskey on offer and what he made of the price of eating out in the capital. Discover if Stan Laurel was able to get to go on a fishing trip to Poulaphouca Lake and if he managed to outsmart the doctors in Belfast. With rare photographs and anecdotes, this is the real story of what they thought of Ireland and what Ireland thought of them.

Containing over two decades of research, Near Dublin tells the story of the visits to Irish shores in the early 1950s of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Drawing on newspaper interviews, personal recollections and archive material, it follows their every move as they became a bit Irish for a small time. Find out what Oliver Hardy thought of the selection of Whiskey on offer and what he made of the price of eating out in the capital. Discover if Stan Laurel was able to get to go on a fishing trip to Poulaphouca Lake and if he managed to outsmart the doctors in Belfast. With rare photographs and anecdotes, this is the real story of what they thought of Ireland and what Ireland thought of them.

Drawing from all available records from Census to Land Registry, Church and Civil, the author has not only a deep interest in the area but was around when the townland was in the final days of it's country roads and farms. Personally knowing and being part of the lives of some of the residents of the large houses has enabled not only an accurate description of the area but also a real insight into this disappearing part of Irish life. Each of the large houses that once sat on the lands of Ballinteer from the early 1800s is covered and where possible, each resident of those houses has been researched and what has been uncovered is nothing short of amazing. Tales of gun running and kidnapping accompany underhanded deals that saw inheritances whipped away from family members. Accompanied by old maps and aerial photographs, the author has amassed a collection of personal photos of some of the old estate houses that have never been published before.