John King, John Noone and John Alderdice

Sir,—Aodhán Crealey’s concise biographical piece about Tyrone-born John King (HI 32.1, Jan./Feb. 2024, ‘On this day’) is an apt tribute to the sole survivor of the 1860–1 well-equipped but badly led first European expedition to cross Australia from south to north. King was then a 20-year-old camel driver. Readers may be interested in two recent … Read more

BITE-SIZED HISTORY

BY DONAL FALLON IRELAND THEN AND NOW An excellent contribution to the rte.ie/history website, ‘Ireland Then and Now’, is an ongoing project from photographer and artist David Cleary. In an interactive series, Cleary takes images from the archives and superimposes them on the exact location today, allowing us to pull the historic image across the … Read more

ON THIS DAY

MAY 08/1987 The Loughgall ambush. Eight members of the East Tyrone Brigade of the IRA, including their commander, Patrick Joseph Kelly, were killed by the SAS/RUC as they attacked the part-manned RUC station in north Armagh. The East Tyrone Brigade was one of the most active and successful IRA brigades during the Troubles, with a … Read more

THE KERLOGUE RESCUE, DECEMBER 1943

By Fran O’Rourke The Battle of Biscay, on 28 December 1943, was a significant episode in the Second World War. Two British cruisers, HMS Enterprise and HMS Glasgow, sank two German torpedo boats and a destroyer which were in the area to escort a supply ship through the British blockade. Germany subsequently changed its strategy … Read more