Nick Maxwell Our tale begins just after the Great Famine, when many landlords were desperate to get rid of their estates and there were people like John George Adair only too happy to buy this land cheaply. Adair wanted a hunting estate and so he bought 20,000 acres under the shadows of Muckish and Errigal mountains and … Read more
This competition for primary and post-primary schools is sponsored by the Department of Education and Skills, Mercier Press, UCC School of History and History Ireland. There are four categories: ‘decade of centenaries’; biography; local or regional issues; and national issues. There will be prizes for the best primary and post-primary project in each category, one … Read more
Benny Gallagher’s house is on the edge of Glenveagh National Park and just a quarter of a mile from the birthplace of St Colmcille. Last year, while he was digging in his garden, he found a medal, which he sent into our school for identification. We cleaned it using Coke, and inscribed on the back … Read more
From the 1770s onwards, as the laws restricting Catholic enlistment were relaxed, increasing numbers of Irishmen joined the British forces. Many enlisted in the European regiments of the East India Company (the British trading organisation that ruled India until 1858). The British needed increasing numbers of soldiers to acquire and maintain distant colonies, and Ireland … Read more
Abigail Francis Woods’ Relationship with Charles Stewart Parnell, Ireland’s “Uncrowned King” Over his seventeen year career (1874-1891), Charles Stewart Parnell achieved more influence than any Irish politician before him. He led the Irish Parliamentary Party, which sought Home Rule for Ireland, and he presided over the Irish National Land League, which battled landlords and their … Read more