Nick Maxwell James Stephens and John O’Mahony, the formal founders of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1858, had been out in ’48 but questioned the leadership of William Smith O’Brien. Unwilling to sanction even the commandeering of private property, O’Brien’s rising ended in the inglorious failure to dislodge less than 50 police from Widow McCormack’s house near … Read more
In the Celtic world, as elsewhere, canines were admired for their senses of sight, smell and hearing. Dogs were used on hunting expeditions and to guard homes, as domestic pets and as a source of food. They abound in surviving mythology and folk tradition and are well represented in religion, where they are often associated … Read more
TheFenian spirit is ever present in Ireland and needs at any time but alittle organisation to make it burst into renewed activity.’ So wroteJohn O’Leary in 1896. O’Leary had been a leading Fenian, playing asignificant editorial role on the Irish People, for which in 1865 he,alongside other leading figures, was convicted of treason-felony andsent into … Read more
Sir, —I read with interest Jim Fitzpatrick’s recollections of meeting Che Guevara in Kilkee in 1962 in your July/August 2008 issue. He mentioned that, according to folklore, another visit to the region saw Guevara locked into Hanratty’s pub in Limerick. A brief article, written by Arthur Quinlan, appeared in the Limerick Leader on 15 March … Read more
Sir, —I write to you in the hope that some of your readers may be ableto help me with some research that I am currently undertaking. I livein an area of County Waterford known as Sliabh gCua. To many, theSliabh gCua area consists of the civil parishes of Lickoran andSeskinane, plus small portions of bounding … Read more