On 29 November 1853 John Mitchel arrived in New York City, having escaped from the penal colony of Van Diemen’s Land. He had been one of the most prominent and militant members of the Young Ireland movement, and had served five years of a 14-year sentence of transportation after being convicted of treason felony in … Read more
Sir, —The ‘Platform’ article ‘Restored to death? Skellig Michael’s WorldHeritage Status under threat’ by Michael Gibbons (HI 15.3, May/June2007) calls into question the professional standards enployed in thecurrent conservation programme at Skellig Michael. As the seniorprofessional staff responsible for this project, we wish to respond tothe main points raised by Mr Gibbons. Skellig Michael, which … Read more
Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier was born in 1796 and sprang from a well-connected Banbridge family who first settled in County Down during the seventeenth century. His father, George Crozier, was a prominent solicitor who acted for the Downshires and Moiras, two of Ireland’s richest and most powerful landowners. Francis, one of thirteen children, was named … Read more
Much has appeared in the Irish media in recent months concerning the asylum granted to Axis collaborators and ‘war criminals’ in the years after 1945. The general tenor of this commentary has tended to increase the perception that Ireland’s attitude to these asylum-seekers was determined by pro-fascist or anti-Allied proclivities. On the other hand, if … Read more
Patrick d’Arcy was born on 27 September 1725 in Kiltulla Castle, four miles south-east of Athenry, Co. Galway, the third son of John d’Arcy and his wife Jane, daughter of Robert Lynch of Castle Carra, Co. Mayo. The family were Catholics and ardent Jacobites and as a result suffered under the Penal Laws. In order … Read more