Walking tours of Ranelagh, led by local history enthusiasts Sally Corcoran and Bryan O'Sullivan, always attract great interest at the festival. Honor O Brolcháin, local author, joins the team this year. Each walk lasts about one hour, giving a fascinating insight into the history of the area and an opportunity to learn about social aspects of life through the ages in Ranelagh. Each walk will accommodate a maximum of 30 people.

Honor's walk at 11.00am on Saturday, will start at Sandford Church (top of Marlborough Road). All other walks will start at the Triangle in Ranelagh.

Fiacc O Brolcháin found this wonderful piece of engineering history in 2003 and has spent many years restoring it, completing it earlier this year. The Hornsby Ackroyd was the world’s first successful ‘hot bulb’ engine and was an immediate success. Hornsby Ackroyd engines provided the power for illuminating the Statue of Liberty in New York and for Marconi’s transmitter that sent the first wireless message across the Atlantic Ocean in 1901.

The magnificent engine on display at the festival, puffing away on the Triangle, was sold on 19 November 1904 to T. Dockrell, Sons & Co. Ltd, who used it for many years. On 7 July 1913, it was delivered to Glencree Reformatory, where it was used to generate electricity and to run a line shaft for the shoe-making school attached to the Reformatory. The engine remained in use up until the late 1960s and provided power when the ESB supply failed.

The tour will be lead by Ranelagh resident Nicola Gordon Bowe, who is one of Ireland’s foremost art historians. She will talk about the stained glass and furnishings of the churches involved, as well as their history and architecture.

Nicola Gordon Bowe is Director of the MA Course in the History of Design and the Applied Arts at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. She has written and lectured widely on late 19th and 20th-century decorative arts. Her publications include Harry Clarke – His Graphic Art (1983) and The Life and Work of Harry Clarke (1989).

The tour commences at St. Philip’s Church, Temple Road, at 3pm on Saturday, 27 September, proceeds to Sandford Parish Church at 3.30pm and concludes at St. Bartholomew’s at 4.15pm. A small number of cycle taxis will be available for those who need them. Please bring your own bicycles!