Nick Maxwell W.B. Yeats: sex, death and the state of the nation By John Gibney Last year marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of the poet and playwright William Butler Yeats. While it might not have been a centenary, the immense stature of Yeats in the Irish literary tradition ensured that the anniversary became the ‘hook’ … Read more
OSCAR TRAYNOR WAS A CONVENTIONAL MEMBER OF THE REVOLUTIONARY GENERATION, BUT WHAT MARKED HIM OUT FROM MANY OF HIS COLLEAGUES WAS HIS ALLEGIANCE TO WHAT WAS OFTEN DISMISSED AS A ‘FOREIGN’ GAME By Brian Hanley Born in Dublin in 1886, the son of a Fenian, Oscar Traynor was a skilled tradesman (a compositor) and a … Read more
By Lar Joye The Irish Republican Brotherhood, more commonly known as the Fenians, was founded simultaneously in Ireland and the United States in March 1858. By 1861, at the start of the American Civil War, it had become a formidable secret organisation in Ireland, and also among Irish emigrants in Britain and the United States. … Read more
Bewley re-entered the diplomatic service in 1929 with a successful tenure as Free State representative to the Holy See. He was transferred to Berlin in 1933 as the Nazis came to power. When presenting his credentials, he addressed President von Hindenburg without mentioning the king, a break in protocol as he was still representing a … Read more
HOW INDEPENDENT IRELAND’S EARLIEST ATTEMPTS AT DIPLOMACY IN BERLIN WERE SABOTAGED BY THE PERSONAL RIVALRY BETWEEN IRISH DIPLOMATS By Darren Kelly The Irish Free State is an entity that is often defined by its relationship with Britain, but its founders desired a close relationship with its Continental neighbours. Post-war Europe was a place where smaller … Read more