Nick Maxwell Nineteenth-century Ireland produced some of the most enthusiastic amateur sky-watchers in the British Isles, with the late Victorian era now being seen as the zenith of the ‘gentleman astronomer’. Astronomy had always been unique amongst the sciences, as anyone with an interest and some technical skill could greatly enhance knowledge of the subject. During … Read more
The elegant eighteenth-century surroundings of Clifton Hill House provided a suitably austere setting for the Tenth Biennial Conference of Irish Historians in Britain which took place at the University of Bristol, 12-14 April on the theme Narratives of Irish History. Donnchadh Ó Corráin (UCC) set the tone with a stimulating opening contribution examining the literary … Read more
As a contribution to the on-going commemoration of the anniversary of the Famine, a one-day symposium on the theme The Irish Famine and Migration was held in March at Queens’ College, Cambridge. Organised by the Cambridge Group for Irish Studies, under the auspices of the Cambridge University History Faculty and in association with History Ireland, … Read more
by Pádraig Ó Snodaigh The practice of history can be seen as a tapestry being constantly re-woven as patterns change, fade, deteriorate, go out of fashion, being replaced in their turn by new shapes, new colourings, expressions of new approaches. Tom O’Neill appeared in these pictures often, over the … Read more
In 1754 the British ambassador in Paris recorded: ‘Sir, Mlle Murphy was brought to bed of a boy last Sunday, at the castle of Versailles… it is kept private as yet, and only whispered in confidence. Whether this will occasion a revolution with respect to the reigning favourite, will be known in a little … Read more