Nick Maxwell The weapons were imported after the arming of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), which, with the open support of the opposition Conservative Party, was established to prepare for civil war rather than accept all-Ireland Home Rule as set out in the bill of 1912. Home Rule had been introduced to allow the Liberal Party to … Read more
When Lord Frederick Cavendish was killed by the Invincibles in the Phoenix Park in May 1882, nothing like it had happened in British political life since Prime Minister Spencer Percival was shot dead in the lobby of the House of Commons in 1812. Percival is the only British prime minister to have been assassinated, and … Read more
I have to admit that I felt apprehensive about visiting this museum. It was a bit like entering the lion’s den to go into the headquarters of one of the loyal orders. The big friendly posters outside did not help and the welcome from the porter was not exactly warm, although that may have been … Read more
Is Ireland traditionally associated with a particular mode of transport? Britain, after all, will always be associated with the seafaring prowess that laid the military and economic foundations for global dominance, and the very existence (not to mention influence) of the United States in its current form is inextricable from the development of the automobile. … Read more
Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President Kennedy, narrowly escaped being, like Lord Frederick Cavendish, an unintended victim of Irish terrorism. In 1975 there was an unsuccessful attempt by the IRA on the life of the Conservative MP Sir Hugh Fraser—then still married to the historian Lady Antonia Fraser—and the car bomb that was intended to kill … Read more