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Fitzgeralds
of Adare was an excuse to set a story in Ireland. From time to time I have
managed to do that. Four times in Unfinished Business, The Doctor and Rose
went there. Vampyres of Tara was the first, then History Bites III: Baptism
of Fire. An Ordinary Man saw The Doctor bring them all to Dublin at the end, and Lament for An Cailleach
Beara follows on from a later Theta Sigma story. But this is Chrístõ’s
first visit to Ireland.
And the setting is Adare Castle in Limerick,
the seat of the Fitzgerald family from the mid 13th century.
Yes, those Fitzgeralds ARE the ancestors of John Fitzgerald Kennedy AND
Garret Fitzgerald, the former Taoiseach of Ireland. And probably every other
famous Fitzgerald with the possible exception of Ella. That is why the time
anomaly was so acute. That Fitzgeralds went on to become important people
in the universe when humans colonise it is a perfectly logical extension
of the importance of the family in world politics.
As
far as possible the descriptions of 13th century life ARE accurate.
John of Maynooth is a perfectly likely character. He was, originally,
called John of Lucan, but I moved him because the name Lucan still tends
to be associated with the missing Lord Lucan from the 1970s. But it is
a perfectly ordinary town in County Meath.
The Mark of Rassilon is a new story intrigue that I decided to bring in,
giving Chrístõ something other than his half blood that marked him out from
other Time Lords. It is mentioned in Unfinished Business as being on the
nape of his neck under some scar tissue that persists despite his regenerations.
Here is the first mention of what the scar hides, and why, and Chrístõ’s
first inclination that his destiny is a bigger one than he ever imagined
it was meant to be.
http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/travel/attractions/castles/adare.shtm
http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/FITZGERALD2.htm
ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitzgerald
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