Nick Maxwell One of the few success stories of the war was entirely pacific. The allotments movement was founded by the artist and former independent nationalist councillor Sarah Harrison in 1909 but made little progress until Dubliners began to experience chronic food shortages from 1915 onwards. It crossed political and religious divides, with Revd Dr Denham, Presbyterian … Read more
Had anyone been of a mind to survey the attitude of Northern Ireland’s Catholic population on the evening of Sunday 8 August 1971, they would have discovered an agitated people alienated from the ruling Stormont regime. A similar study carried out seven days later would have found a community still alienated from Stormont but now … Read more
Operation Demetrius (or internment, as it was known) began at 4.30am on Monday 9 August 1971, when the British Army began arresting those identified by the RUC. Of the 342 men arrested, 116 were released within 48 hours. Some 226 men were detained: 86 from Belfast, 60 from County Derry, 20 from the Newry area, … Read more
On 25 July 1984 a wave of disbelief swept through the main streets of Ireland like a tsunami. Woolworth’s was abandoning Ireland! The shopping public reeled. F.W. Woolworth & Co. Ltd—also colloquially and affectionately known as ‘Woolies’—had been an iconic shopping experience for generations. It formed an integral part of urban folklore heritage. To witness … Read more
Western interest in Mount Everest began in 1841, when Sir George Everest, surveyor general of India, recorded its location; the first reasonably accurate measurement of the mountain was subsequently made in 1856. The first British reconnaissance expedition was made in 1921, and since then mountaineers of various nationalities have tried to reach the roof of … Read more