Catherine Shannon, Professor of History at Westfield State College in Massachusetts, has been actively promoting Irish-American academic exchange for many years, both in her own career and in organisations such as the American Committee for Irish Studies. Peter Collins talked to her recently. PC: Tell us about your background. CS: I was born in Boston … Read more
Mary Size (1883–1959)—forgotten Irish pioneer of British penal reform. By Ruairí Ó hAodha Myra Hindley claimed that she was glad that it was dark when she was driven through the gates of Holloway Prison, London, in 1966, as she avoided having to view its forbidding Victorian façade. Hindley had narrowly avoided the hangman for her … Read more
Norwegian Ole Mørk Sandvik’s 1927 visit to Ireland. By David Toms Ole Mørk Sandvik was unimpressed by Dublin on his arrival in Ireland’s capital in the summer of 1927, describing it as an ‘English city’, and boring for all that. He was equally nonplussed by Cork, which he felt shared much of the same character … Read more
The ‘special position’ of the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglicans and the historians. By Niall Meehan Historians in southern Ireland who examine the interaction of religion with social and political policy tend to fixate on the Roman Catholic Church. Southern Protestants and their socio-economic, political and religious interactions within wider society are often ignored. Though … Read more
Brian O’Higgins and the Wolfe Tone Annual, 1932–62. By Patrick Maume The Wolfe Tone Annual was published and largely written by the balladeer, postcard manufacturer and die-hard republican Brian O’Higgins (1882–1963) between 1932 and 1962, with illustrations by his business partners. O’Higgins used the Annual to comment overtly and covertly on recent history and current … Read more