Turtle Bunbury, Historian, Turtle Bunbury's Irish Histories
Turtle Bunbury is a best-selling author, historian and podcaster based in County Carlow, Ireland. BBC History Magazine described his 2021 book 'The Irish Diaspora - Tales of Emigrants, Exile & Empire' as 'impeccably researched with a fascinating assortment of case histories... models of lucid compression, lively yet judicious, packed with vivid detail.'
In July 2021, Bunbury launched the Vanishing Ireland podcast series, based on his best-selling series of books of the same name, in which he interviews men and women in their 80s, 90s and 100s about their life stories. In November 2021, he launches Past Tracks, an interpretative design project that will bring a colourful splash of local history to 50 Irish railway stations.
The writer Sebastian Barry applauded Turtle's 2020 book 'Ireland's Forgotten Past' as 'delicious... a stirring atlas of Irishness,' while the Yorkshire Times hailed it as a rare and cherishable thing: combining assiduous research with a nose for ribald fun, Bunbury disinters the odd, the arcane and the profoundly surprising from the dark recesses of a mostly unknown history.
Bunbury's other books include
Maxol - The Story of an Irish Family Business (2020).
Adare Manor - An Epicurean Journey (2020).
Adare Manor - Renaissance of an Irish Country House (2019).
Easter Dawn (2015).
The Glorious Madness - Tales of the Irish & the Great War - short-listed for Best Irish-published Book of the Year (2014).
1847 - A Chronicle of Genius, Generosity & Savagery (2016) - which Oscar-nominated film director Lenny Abrahamson praised as vivid, surprising, hugely entertaining.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
I'm increasingly impressed by LinkedIn, but, having been on Facebook since relatively early days, that's where my primary following presently lies, not least the 150K strong Vanishing Ireland group.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
I'm a public historian in that I take complicated events and try to re-present them to people in a way that helps them to understand the fascinating complexity of the past. I've lately started the Vanishing Ireland podcast, which I adore.
I'm also about to launch a new website which will have 1500+ stories I've written about history, mostly Irish, often related to families and people who live on this island. Also coming soon are 50 illustrated history panels that I've produced for 50 different Irish railway stations; every station has a different panel.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
Historians are basically detectives. It's all about piecing together the evidence. Whether I'm researching the layout of a stone circle, the cause of a war, or the evolution of petrol pumps. I still get a tremendous kick out of discovering the clues scattered through the annals of the past. It's also wonderfully unpredictable.
History is such a vast and multidimensional canvas that I never know what I am going to learn next. You're basically dealing with the juiciest plots, the greatest twists, the richest characters, the best lines, running back through countless generations of everyone who has ever lived. So, I aim to be a kind of translator, to help those who don't necessarily read history to get an insight into the nuances of it all.
I don't mind sifting through the archives and heavy-duty academic stuff, but the part that gives me a kick is turning that into words that a contemporary audience can understand. The goal is to encourage the reader to reevaluate the streets and landscape around them and maybe look again at their own family ancestry and how it fits into the narrative.
It's by no means easy because so much of our history is riddled with bitterness and tragedy, and deceit which still generates considerable anger today. So, I urge people to try not to judge people from the past too harshly, on the basis that was then and this is now.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
I spent most of my 20s talking the talk and thinking too much and not doing a whole lot in terms of focus. And then one night, Elvis Presley sang to me: "A little less conversation, a little more action, please." Sage words and I've held them close ever since. But, of course, I turn 50 next year, so that might call for a new mantra.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
History is my religion. It's also my escape hatch in that, during the bleaker hours of this pandemic, I've been a complete ostrich and buried my head in the sands of the past. I wrote a book called 'The Irish Diaspora' during the lockdown. I found it much better to be thinking about Irish monks ambling about in 9th century Iceland than it was to listen to the daily tally of infection and death all around me.
I'm not sure if that's living in utter denial, but I certainly felt a lot more upbeat by taking a break from the day-to-day challenges of the present and losing myself in another world.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
I suspect 'Vanishing Ireland' will always be the project I'm most closely associated with, but the launch of each new book has its own charm. It's hard not to single out 'The Irish Pub', a collaboration with James Fennell's photographer. We launched it at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin and got a sponsor on board so that all our guests had access to a free bar.
I dedicated the evening to a teacher who once told me I couldn't organise a p*ss up in a brewery. Writing the cover story for National Geographic Traveler in the same year that I had historical features published in Playboy and The World of Interiors felt like a hat-trick not many are likely to achieve.
I was Writer-in-Residence at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco for a stint, which was fab. I also love being spoiled rotten when invited to speak in places like New York, Chicago and Savannah, Georgia.
Watching my wife Ally launch her own books has been pretty darned as well as magnificent. We have daughters, too. A pair of them and their humour and curiosity fills me with sugary pride on a regular basis.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
With a handshake, a hug, a kiss, a human-to-human interaction.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
I come from a happy and mostly united family, which is an immense advantage, and I live in the glorious countryside from where I can walk in peace whenever I so wish. Travelling far and wide during my 20s and 30s opened my mind, as did the rowdy lifestyle I indulged in before I settled down to enjoy life as a husband and father.
From a historian's perspective, I'm blessed that I seem to be interested in almost everything about the past. Flexibility, adaptability, curiosity, courtesy and lashings of stoic humour seem important too.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
I'm not really one for regretting things. I am where I am and who I am because of all that has been.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
As a public speaker, I try to model my behaviour on Cate Blanchett, who has never ever turned in a dud performance. As a historical all-sort, I am much impressed by historians with the first name of Dan - Carlin, Snow and Jones, for instance. Finally, for homegrown creative inspiration, I take a bow to writer Sebastian Barry and director Lenny Abrahamson, who has shown how that world stage has plenty of room on it.
In terms of influences, I've always been quite good at befriending old-timers, and I greatly value what they have to say. I volunteered to live with my grandfather for a year when I was 30, which gave me a lot of perspectives. My history teachers inevitably exerted an influence, as did my family. I'm the third son, so I undoubtedly had an eye on my big brothers growing up, although actually, our younger sister Sasha ended up being a tremendous mentor also.
Our hippy-ish aunt Rosebud taught me a lot of wise things like, if you haven't got a good word to say about someone, don't say it.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
Since the pandemic began, I have obsessively explored the landscape around our home in Ireland. Tracking the flow of every stream, clambering to all the highest points, trying to make sense of old ruins and other stone shapes scattered in the fields and gathering up any records of such places in the history books.
I spend a huge amount of time with my family, which I adore. Still, I also look forward to days spent rambling hills, historical sites and river swims, followed by evenings of inspirational pints and succulent dinner with pals unseen for far too long.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
From a career point of view, I couldn't have entered the pandemic under more promising circumstances. I had three books about to launch and two more commissioned to complete for 2021, as well as the wonderful Past Tracks, project to bring history panels to Irish railway stations. On top of that, I'd literally just switched on the lights for the first time in my new studio and a dapper timber shed that we raised in our garden.
Covid entered the island a few days later, and within weeks, we were in lockdown. The timing was immaculate – after nearly half a century on earth, I finally had a room of my own. There were downsides, of course. A public speaking tour I had planned for the USA was axed, and most of the work I do with tourism and heritage bodies vanished overnight, but generally, I've had a good war.
Indeed, it made me rethink the way I might work with the material and concepts I already have - that's what led to the creation of the Vanishing Ireland podcasts and, indeed, to my mounting interest in podcasting in general.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
I'm not shy about asking for advice from those who know more than me, especially in terms of historical expertise. I'm happy to do likewise when asked questions by younger historians or their parents, and I do my best to provide strong, upbeat answers.
It's a fulfilling merry-go-round, a nod to the barters of old before the wicked money system came along and clobbered us all. I have a small cabinet of kindred spirits, which I can call upon when I need advice, but Ally is my go-to sounding board for most projects and thoughts.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Be patient. Travel far, talk to the locals, especially the older ones, as they will help you to colour in the past. Read lots, ask questions, write down the answers, travel some more. And above all, if you're going to be a historian, be a jack of every trade: journalism, podcasts, lectures, books, TV, radio, electronic, tourism, education, the whole shebang... because you will almost certainly need multiple income streams to make it work.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
The cash. History is not a well-funded sport, and historians don't become wealthy overnight. In fact, historians don't generally become wealthy full stop. You can make it work, but you need to keep a sharp focus on the ever-changing kaleidoscope of money-making options. And you can weigh the cost of your patience with a career that should be stuffed with variety and spice. Every single day I am learning more and more, and I absolutely love that.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
I've already mentioned Elvis, so this time I'll run with Bob Marley: "If you know your history, then you would know where you coming from."
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
In terms of pushing history to the people, Dan Snow's History Hit network is pulling out all the stops and impresses me greatly. Of course, as to brands, I'm biased towards those who have kept a sage eye on their own history - Guinness excels, as do many whiskey brands, and Maxol, for whom I've lately produced a book and a podcast series, is easily my favourite energy company.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
It would be disingenuous to pretend that a healthy bank account doesn't tick the success box: it took me a long time to get those figures into a decent shape. However, money aside, I think one of the secrets of life is to do things that make you content and be aware of that contentment and realise you are at peace.
Time gallops, and it quickens as it does: it never stops, but we can. We can stop and breathe, breathe deep and absorb those all too rare magical moments, inhale the fruity honeysuckle of happy days, and appreciate that success is often in the here and now rather than in some imagined future.