Nick Maxwell Blue Raincoat Theatre Company Project Arts Centre, Dublin 27 February–11 March 2017 By Tony Canavan Blue Raincoat is one of Ireland’s longest-running theatre ensembles, with a reputation for innovative, imaginative productions. Shackleton is their latest, described as ‘a visual theatre piece, the tale of the Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton’s escape from the Antarctic is told … Read more
Irish and Irish-American Catholic admiration for McCarthy, while widespread, was far from universal. By Gerard Madden When attendees gathered to hear Joseph McCarthy, the young junior senator for Wisconsin, address the Republican Women’s Club of Wheeling, West Virginia, on 9 February 1950, little did they realise that they were about to witness one of the … Read more
Joseph McCarthy was born on 14 November 1908 in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, to a family with strong Irish roots. His paternal grandfather, Stephen, was born in Borrisokane, Co. Tipperary, in 1825. Moving to America in 1858, he married Margaret Stoffel, who was born in the present-day Czech Republic, and bought farmland in Grand Chute. McCarthy’s … Read more
IRA executions of alleged civilian spies during the War of Independence. By Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc The ‘intelligence war’ was undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of the Irish War of Independence and remains one of the most controversial today. For the British, the best way to defeat the insurgency was to acquire accurate … Read more
William Hickie and the 16th (Irish) Division By Lar Joye In 1917 two Irish divisions fought side by side, in victory and then in defeat. In June 1917, the 36th (Ulster) and 16th (Irish) Divisions benefited from careful preparation and good luck to eject well-entrenched German forces from the important Messines Ridge. The preliminary artillery … Read more