Nick Maxwell National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin 10 April–10 August 2025 By Joseph McBrinn For a friendship that so profoundly shaped the course of modern art in Ireland, just how Evie Hone and Mainie Jellett met is curiously unrecorded. What took them to Paris and induced them to approach Albert Gleizes, the only original pre-war Cubist painter … Read more
In the wake of the devastation wrought by Storm Éowyn I was reminded of a phrase often used by my late father—‘the worst in living memory’. In meteorological terms it was even worse than 1961’s Hurricane Debbie, although less lethal in human terms; Debbie killed eighteen people, Éowyn only two. Debbie was my own earliest … Read more
By John Gibney In November 1971 Harold Wilson, the former (and future) British prime minister whose Labour Party was then in opposition, visited Dublin, where he attended a dinner hosted by Taoiseach Jack Lynch. Also present was Minister for Foreign Affairs Patrick Hillery, who wrote that ‘the impression I had left was one of almost … Read more
By Kyle McCreanor A tale of false passports, international espionage and grandiose plots in Jazz Age Paris, the story of two Irish republicans aiding a joint Basque and Catalan nationalist initiative to establish independent republics by arms has been shrouded in secrecy and largely unknown to historians. This article sheds light on the intriguing case … Read more
By Tom Dillon Described as ‘Ireland’s airwoman No.1’, Lillie Dillon from Listowel, Co. Kerry, was a pioneer of Irish aviation. Living at a time when societal attitudes imposed many restrictions on women, her exploits throughout her colourful life made her a remarkable individual. She was born as Elizabeth Mary de Courcy Dillon on 27 October … Read more