Turtle Bunbury
{{short description|Irish author, historian, and television presenter}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Turtle Bunbury headshot.jpg
| caption = Turtle Bunbury
| name = Turtle Bunbury
| birth_name = James Alexander Hugh McClintock Bunbury
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|21 February 1972}}
| birth_place = Ireland
| education = Glenalmond College, Scotland; Trinity College, Dublin; University of Groningen, Netherlands
| occupation = Author, historian, television presenter
| parents = Baron Rathdonnell (father)
| spouse = Ally Bunbury
| known_for = Vanishing Ireland
}}
James Alexander Hugh McClintock Bunbury (born 21 February 1972),Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, vol. 3, p. 3279 known as Turtle Bunbury, is an Irish author, historian, and television presenter. He has published a number of books such as the Vanishing Ireland series, Ireland's Forgotten Past, Easter Dawn -The 1916 Rising,{{cite news|url = https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/easter-rising-books-reviewed-the-rebels-who-launched-1-000-volumes-1.2498318?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fculture%2Fbooks%2Feaster-rising-books-reviewed-the-rebels-who-launched-1-000-volumes-1.2498318 | author = Ronan McGreevy | title = Easter Rising books reviewed | newspaper = The Irish Times | accessdate = 16 January 2016}} The Glorious Madness (short-listed for Best Irish-published Book of the Year 2014){{cite news|url = https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/in-praise-of-the-fighting-and-dying-irish-1.2129169 | author = Keith Jeffrey | title = In praise of the fighting – and dying – Irish | newspaper = The Irish Times | accessdate = 20 April 2015}}{{cite news|url = https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/first-encounters-turtle-bunbury-and-hugo-jellett-1.2021331 | author = Frances O'Rourke | title = First Encounters: Turtle Bunbury and Hugo Jellett | newspaper = The Irish Times | accessdate = 6 December 2014}}{{cite web| author = Emily Hourican | url = https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/awards-show-energy-of-irish-writing-30708368.html | title = Awards show energy of Irish writing | date = 3 November 2014 | publisher = Irish Independent | accessdate = 3 November 2014}} and 1847 – A Chronicle of Genius, Generosity & Savagery.{{cite news|url = https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/interiors/turtle-bunbury-the-only-place-i-can-achieve-peace-is-in-the-bath-1.2877798 | title = Turtle Bunbury: 'The only place I can achieve peace is in the bath' | newspaper = The Irish Times | accessdate = 26 November 2018}}
Career
Bunbury is the third son of Thomas McClintock-Bunbury, 5th Baron Rathdonnell and Jessica Harriet, daughter of George Gilbert Butler, of Scatorish, Bennettsbridge, County Kilkenny (brother of the essayist Hubert Butler).Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, vol. 1, p. 1214, and vol. 3, p. 3279 He was raised at Lisnavagh House, Rathvilly, County Carlow{{cite web|url = https://pressreader.com/@nickname12338245/csb_3mF5JAGkPykq4Z_RoFITl4I3SURqM0sU4ubm9hEX27HPwt83-1gpCy2ZpjiNifol | title = My Favourite Room | work = Sunday Independent | date = 15 December 2013 | via = pressreader.com}} and received his early education locally and at Castle Park School in Dublin.{{cite web|author = Andrea Smith | title = 'Turtle wasn't slow when it came to love' | url = https://www.independent.ie/style/sex-relationships/turtle-wasnt-slow-when-it-came-to-love-35583510.html | work = Sunday Independent | date = 3 April 2017}} He later studied at Glenalmond College, Perthshire, Scotland, before going on to Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.{{cite book| quote = "I subsequently spent a year at Groningen University...", Turtle Bunbury, 'Juris Erratum – Running from the Law,' | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=31QlvgAACAAJ | title = Trinity Tales: Trinity College Dublin in the Nineties | editor = Catherine Heaney | publisher = Lilliput Press | date = 2016 | page = 119|isbn = 9781843516798}}
From 1996 to 1998 he lived in Hong Kong, working as a freelance correspondent with the South China Morning Post and Business News Indochina.{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=q2cmDQAAQBAJ&dq=%22south+china+morning+post%22+bunbury&pg=PT28 | author = Hugh Oram | title = Charmers and Chancers, Trafford Publishing | date = 2016| publisher = Trafford | isbn = 9781490777016 }}[https://www.tcd.ie/alumni/assets/pdf/trinity-today-2016.pdf Trinity Today], Autumn 2016 (Ashville Media Group), p. 76.
Bunbury was a co-presenter of The Genealogy Roadshow on RTÉ television in 2011 and 2014. He also presented Hidden Histories on Newstalk Radio in 2013.{{cite web|work = Hidden Histories | publisher = Newstalk Radio |url = https://www.newstalk.com/search/Turtle%20bunbury | title = Turtle Bunbury Podcasts}} He co-wrote the 2008 documentary John Henry Foley: Sculptor of the Empire.{{cite web|url = https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4686435/ | title = Turtle Bunbury | publisher = IMDb (Internet Movie Database)}} He has also appeared on BBC1's Wogan's Ireland,{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bcnH0oi57i4C&dq=%22Terry+wogan%22+turtle+bunbury&pg=PP126 | title = Wogan's Ireland: A Tour Around the Country that Made the Man | author = Terry Wogan | publisher = Simon and Schuster | date = 2012| isbn = 9781471115004 }} the RTÉ series, Great Lighthouses of Ireland,[https://programmesales.rte.ie/programme/great_lighthouses_of_ireland Great Lighthouse of Ireland] and [https://afloat.ie/resources/maritime-tv-programmes/item/54289-rte-s-great-lighthouses-of-ireland-returns-for-second-series-in-may RTE's Great Lighthouses of Ireland Returns for a Second Series in Early May] and episodes of the American version and Irish version of the Who Do You Think You Are? TV series.{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/mandy-moore-traces-irish-roots-ireland-famine-era|title=Mandy Moore traces her Irish roots to Co Tipperary|date=7 December 2018 |website=IrishCentral.com|access-date=19 June 2019}}
BBC History Magazine described him as "a skilled storyteller",[https://www.pressreader.com/uk/bbc-history-magazine/20200416/page/83 BBC History Magazine], 16 April 2020 and novelist Marjorie Quarton described Bunbury as being "one of the most versatile authors of his generation … a serious author with a light touch in writing".{{cite journal | author = Marjorie Quarton | title = Review – '1847: A Chronicle of Genius, Generosity and Savagery' by Turtle Bunbury | journal = Books Ireland | issue = 371 | publisher = Wordwell Ltd | volume = January/February 2017 | pages = 34–35| jstor = 90014347 | year = 2017 }}
His work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler,{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/ireland-castles-photos-traveler/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924174059/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/ireland-castles-photos-traveler/|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 September 2018|title=Irish Manor Houses – National Geographic Traveler|date=20 February 2014|website=Travel|access-date=19 June 2019}} Daily Beast,{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-amazing-story-of-little-al-cashier-a-transgender-civil-war-hero|title=The Amazing Story of Little Al Cashier, a Transgender Civil War Hero|last=Bunbury|first=Turtle|date=24 September 2017|access-date=19 June 2019}} The Australian,{{Cite journal|last=Turtle|first=Bunbury|date=27 February 2010|title=The Real Craggy Island|journal=The Australian}} The Guardian{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/mar/16/ireland-top-hidden-outdoor-cultural-attractions|title=Beyond the blarney: the best hidden gems in Ireland|last=Bunbury|first=Turtle|date=16 March 2015|work=The Guardian|access-date=19 June 2019|issn=0261-3077}} and the Irish Times.{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/a-beautiful-friendship-general-tom-thumb-and-pt-barnum-1.3353575|title=A beautiful friendship – General Tom Thumb and PT Barnum|last=Bunbury|first=Turtle|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=19 June 2019}}
In 2019, Bunbury began a collaboration with Iarnród Éireann and Flahavan's for a project called ‘Past Tracks,’ an exhibition of historic panels that went on semi-permanent display in several railway stations around Ireland.‘[https://www.independent.ie/regionals/argus/news/passengers-get-fast-track-to-towns-past-38593385.html Passengers get Fast Track to town's past]’, The Argus, 19 October 2019; ‘[https://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/looking-at-sligo-history-while-waiting-on-the-train-38585378.html Looking at Sligo history while waiting on the train]’, The Sligo Champion, 19 October 2019
Bunbury has also written and performed in a series of podcasts covering topics from his books, and various aspects of history and culture. Examples include Waterways Through Time, commissioned by Waterways Ireland, which won the Bronze medal for best podcast at the 2023 Digital Media Awards in Ireland, [https://afloat.ie/inland/inland-waterways/item/60751-waterways-through-time-podcast-wins-at-digital-media-awards ‘Waterways Through Time’ Podcast Wins at Digital Media Awards] and Behind the Guinness Gates, commissioned by the Guinness Storehouse.[https://open.spotify.com/show/2BRohxpaumWLK2YM3lM4i2 Behind the Guinness Gates]
Turtle Bunbury is married to the novelist Ally Bunbury with whom he lives in County Carlow.{{cite web | author = Ann Dunne| url = https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/romance-a-mothers-wrath-and-a-dilapidated-mansion-36943779.html | title = Romance, a mother's wrath and a dilapidated mansion – Infidelity by Ally Bunbury | publisher = Irish Independent | date = 27 May 2018}}{{cite web| author = Regina Lavelle | url = https://www.independent.ie/style/sex-relationships/are-you-ready-to-rid-your-life-of-a-toxic-friendship-35397049.html | title = Are you ready to rid your life of a toxic friendship? | publisher = Irish Independent | date = 29 January 2017}}
== Vanishing Ireland ==
In 2001 Bunbury began work on the Vanishing Ireland project with photographer James Fennell. The project produced four books,{{cite web|url= https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/vanishing-ireland-documenting-the-recent-past-in-ireland-that-seems-a-world-away-photos-162365756-237516031 | title = 'Vanishing Ireland' documents the recent past in Ireland that seems a world away | date = 14 July 2012 | publisher = Irish Central | accessdate = 14 July 2012}} and a review in the Irish Independent of the first book noted how it was "written with sympathy, understanding and gentle humour".{{cite web|publisher = Irish Independent | url = https://www.independent.ie/unsorted/indofeedtemp/temp-head-26286791.html | title = Temp Head | author = Charles Lysaght | date = 8 April 2007}} Three of the books were short-listed for Best Irish-Published Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards.{{cite news|url = https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/irish-book-awards-shortlist-announced-1.1580617?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fculture%2Fbooks%2Firish-book-awards-shortlist-announced-1.1580617 | title = Irish Book Awards shortlist announced | newspaper = The Irish Times | date = 1 November 2013}}
Works
- The Landed Gentry & Aristocracy of Co. Kildare (Irish Family Names, 2004) {{ISBN|0953848531}}
- The Landed Gentry & Aristocracy of Co. Wicklow (Irish Family Names, 2005) {{ISBN|0953848574}}
- Living in Sri Lanka (Thames & Hudson, 2006), with James Fennell. {{ISBN|0500512876}}
- Vanishing Ireland (Hodder Headline, 2006), with James Fennell. {{ISBN|034092277X}}
- The Irish Pub (Thames & Hudson, 2008) with James Fennell. {{ISBN|0500514283}}
- Dublin Docklands – An Urban Voyage (Montague, 2009). {{ISBN|0955815517}}
- Vanishing Ireland 2 (Hodder Headline, 2009), with James Fennell. {{ISBN|0340920270}}
- Sporting Legends of Ireland (Mainstream, 2010) with James Fennell. {{ISBN|1845965027}}
- Vanishing Ireland 3 (Hachette, 2011), with James Fennell. {{ISBN|1444733052}}
- Dublin from the Etihad Skyline (GAA Museum, 2012), {{ISBN|978-0957280502}}.
- Vanishing Ireland 4 (Hachette, 2013), with James Fennell. {{ISBN|1444733060}}
- The Glorious Madness – Tales of the Irish & the Great War (Gill & Macmillan, 2014) {{ISBN|978-07171-6234-5}}
- Easter Dawn – The 1916 Rising (Mercier Press, 2015). {{ISBN|978-1781-172582}}
- 1847 – A Chronicle of Genius, Generosity & Savagery (Gill, 2016). {{ISBN|9780717168347}}
- Adare Manor : The Renaissance of an Irish Country House (Adare Manor Publishing, 2019) {{ISBN| 9781527246706}}
- Ireland's Forgotten Past (Thames & Hudson, 2020) {{ISBN|9780500022535}}
- The Irish Diaspora: Tales of Emigration, Exile and Imperialism (Thames & Hudson, 2021) {{ISBN| 9780500022528}}
- The Centenary of Naas Racecourse (Turtle Bunbury Histories, 2023) {{ISBN| 9781399968263}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunbury, Turtle}}
Category:21st-century Irish historians
Category:Irish non-fiction writers
Category:Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Category:University of Groningen alumni