Nick Maxwell By Rachel McKenna The lush landscape of County Offaly is dotted and studded with follies, those curios described by Primrose Wilson, chairman of the Follies Trust, as ‘statements of style [where] the element of eccentricity is essential’. Often engendering an affection lacking for the rest of the landlord’s property, the folly will frequently outlast the … Read more
In the peaceful setting of St Michael’s churchyard in Abergele in north Wales, just off the busy A55 road, there is a memorial to the 33 victims of a horrific railway accident who were buried in a mass grave there in August 1868. It was the worst rail disaster up to then, and the graphic … Read more
A Gansee production, directed by Kevin Brannigan and Graham Seely By Brian Hanley By any standards Seán Garland has led an interesting life. Raised in the tenements of north inner city Dublin, by his early twenties he was already an iconic figure among Irish republicans. Joining the IRA in 1953, he shortly afterwards enlisted in … Read more
What can Muirchú’s Life of St Patrick (c. 688) tell us about the political history of late fifth-century Ulster, and in particular the hostile relationship between the Uí Néill and their allies the Airthir, a tribe of the Airgialla, and the Ulaid, mentioned at the close of Muirchú’s Life? Does it provide any clues to … Read more
The Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains and Clans of Ireland (Fínte na hÉireann), in association with the History Department of Trinity College, Dublin, and History Ireland magazine, are offering a prize of €500 for the winning entrant in an essay competition on Gaelic Ireland. Entry is open to all persons over eighteen years … Read more