Nick Maxwell Records of the Poor Law Unions, 1840s–1924 From the early 1840s until 1924, approximately half of all destitute children in Ireland were accommodated in the workhouse system. Unfortunately, there is a huge variation in the rate of survival of Indoor Relief registers that record admissions, for all Poor Law Unions. The late Dr Chris O’Mahony … Read more
Seventy-plus years ago—February 1944—and it is at last clear that the Allies are going to win the Second World War (1939–45). In Eastern Europe, the Red Army’s march west is gathering pace. In Italy, the Allied offensive at Monte Cassino is under way. And in Northern Ireland, in anticipation of D-Day, the number of British … Read more
In 1938 and 1939, with European conflict on the horizon, Ireland was exporting around 800,000 barrels of beer annually. By 1940 and 1941, with war under way, this figure leapt closer to the million mark. These healthy export figures were thanks to the thirst for Guinness among the rapidly expanding number of men enlisted in … Read more
In 1843 Irish artist Joseph Patrick Haverty painted a scene from a ‘monster meeting’ at Clifden, Co. Galway. The meeting had been organised by the Loyal National Repeal Association and the painting consisted of a collection of mini-portraits of the leading members of the Association as they listened to Daniel O’Connell delivering a speech. Although … Read more
If it is possible to detect a new politicisation of women in Ireland during the O’Connellite era, to what extent is this manifest in the views expressed by women? It is clear from the statements of the women supporters that they were politically aware and knowledgeable about the specific demands of the Catholic Emancipation and … Read more