THROUGHOUT THE PAST 12 months, we have delved into Irish history to find out about the hidden stories we’d never heard of.

We’ve interviewed authors, visited places ourselves, and searched through newspaper archives to find out the quirky and sometimes unknown stories of our fair isle.

Here are some of the highlights.

• The ghost stories that are true…

Tarquin Blake Tarquin Blake

Tarquin Blake told us about his research into Ireland’s true ghost stories, and brought us to the spooky spots that inspired them.

• A visit to the vandalised graveyard

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The fantastically-named Cabbage Gardens in Dublin is home to an historic graveyard. But it has been vandalised multiple times. We went there to see what it’s like, and asked Dublin City Council how they’re going to fix it.

• Invasion of the bodysnatchers

Cork City Libraries / Cork Past and Present Cork City Libraries / Cork Past and Present / Cork Past and Present

This grille looks rather foreboding – and it was used to protect graves from bodysnatchers back in the 1800s. Here’s more about its chilling history.

• The mysterious doctor

Just who was John C Clarke? With the help of his incredible photographs of Ireland in the late 1800s/1900s we found out more about his life.

• The Irish man who trekked through China

Library of Congress Library of Congress

Dr George Hadden’s incredible history was unveiled in August, when we brought you the story of how he was reunited with the family he lost.

The mysterious young doctor who captured Ireland in black and white

David Walsh has been to 503 islands off Ireland’s coast. He’s now written a book.

Hidden Ireland: Were these giant tombs a big show of oneupmanship?