Seán Ó Brógáin

HUGH O'NEILL 1540-1616 MEMENTO MORI  Study of a "Gaelic Chieftain", copyright Seán Ó' Brógáin Introduction   On the 20 July 1616, news comes from Rome,  Hugh O'Neill, the Great O'Neill , 2nd Earl of Tyrone is dead . T o the Crown in London, it was a great relief as the spectre of O' Neill in exile conspiring with foreign powers, gathering  a foreign army of emigrés and mercenaries, was unsettling with the momentum of colonisation of Gaelic lands only beginning to gain traction .  But O' N eill's death cannot be underestimated within Gaelic society, it caused much consternation, a realisation that the recent changes would now remain and the new reality of a foreign Hierarchy with the influx of colonist from Britain , had reduc ed many to bottom rung of the new society , with the a glimmer of a  return to the old order getting dimmer. O' Neill's death even created a schism of sorts with i n the Bardic tradition,

Falling off the horse Creating a piece of work for a publication is always fraught with some trepidation, with deadlines, co njur ing up an idea, constructing an interesting composition, yadda, yadda, yadda (yeah i know, life is tough). Seleucid Empire So when Ancient Warfare asked me to do a piece on the Battle of Antioch 145BCE i had to go scurrying off to my books to look it up and the background . The Hellenistic period has always been one of those grey area's falling between the martial magnificence of Alexander the G reat , the Rise of Rome through the prism of the Punic Wars overshadowing the spasmodic conflicts between the ri val S uccessor States (dont say this too quickly, phew!) . Ptolemy Philometer Demetrius II Alexander Balas It ' s a period which i havent done much work on, except one plate for Osprey, when i showed Romans at the Battle of Magnesia 190BCE, even then the Seleucid Army is only an amorphis impression in thei

PEEL CASTLE c.1659 Pre-amble Well, this was an odd and interesting project for me, as i remember well working in the Isle of Mann back in the early 90s as a student. The kind of life experience building exercise you engage when your younger, but would rather not re-live if you could manage it. I remember leaving the island on a p lane and swearing i'd never be back. Introduction When Dr. John Callow called me up to discuss doing artwork for an article on Peel Castle, i was quite surprised, because i had lived beside the castle for a summer and had trudged around it many times. After sending a synopsis of the scenario, reference photos/images and the historical context. I couldnt refuse him, considering my experience of the place. Its was a period i hadn't done much work on (the end of the English Commonwealth) and a place i hadnt done any work on at all. The Castle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peel_Castle Peel Castle has an ancient history, perc