Free Walking Tour Of The Burnaby

Bringing up baby…

t’s easy to forget, when hanging out in Burnaby Park, that you’re actually sitting in a little bit of Irish history.

Young Murtagh…

A history that local author,  journalist and Hell’s Angel Peter Murtagh is about to reveal with a free walking tour on Sunday, August 25th.

The bright idea of Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed, and built largely between 1895 and 1910, The Burnaby is actually Ireland’s first-ever planned housing estate.

Hence the neat block grid.

Inspired by the growing Garden City Movement, and the likes of Victorian Romantic William Morris, the estate was named after her beloved first husband, Fred, who had died in battle ten years earlier.

If you’re lucky, you might still be able to find a DVD of Peter Murtagh’s stroll through all that history. Or you can check out a little more detail here.

And also just added at the 11th hour, there’s a Greystones railway history tour on Saturday 24th, from 2pm to 3.15pm, details here.

In the meantime, the curious should gather at the Whitshed Road entrance to Burnaby Park on Sunday, August 25th at 2pm.