Irish soldiers, surgeons, revolutionaries and pressmen—as well as at least one downright chancer—all joined in the conflict that saw the downfall of the Second French Empire. By Isadore Ryan Irish participation in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870–1 took various forms and was overwhelmingly on the side of Ireland’s historical ally, France. The onset of the … Read more
By Charles Tyner At the time of the Civil War, the United States was a growing power but not yet a ‘great’ one. Vulnerable to the existing European powers, it had to navigate its way carefully through any diplomatic crisis that might undermine it, of which there were several. One such episode was the Trent … Read more
By Antóin O’Callaghan On the north-western hills overlooking Cork city stands St Vincent’s Church, Sunday’s Well, home to the Vincentian Order until their departure from the city in 2016. Opened in 1856, the building of St Vincent’s began in the years following Catholic Emancipation, and the rising structure became a powerful symbol of the growing … Read more
By Danny Ó Seachnasaigh The partial failure of the potato crop in 1845 heralded the beginning of what has come to be known globally as the Great Irish Famine or Great Hunger, An Gorta Mór. In the following year of 1846 the potato crop would fail totally, with 1847 being forever cemented in the Irish … Read more
DIARMAID FERRITER Profile Books £25 ISBN 9781800810945 REVIEWED BY Brian Girvin Brian Girvin is Honorary Professor of Contemporary Politics at the University of Glasgow. Most people reading Diarmaid Ferriter’s new book will have encountered at least some of the incidents and controversies detailed here but will have done so from very different perspectives. The one … Read more