Nick Maxwell Dan Keating’s political leanings stemmed from his background, some of his uncles having been militant in land agitation in the years following the Famine. In two interviews for a BBC Radio Ulster documentary on his life, Keating recalled how his past shaped his future. ‘One branch of the family was very militant. At the time … Read more
USSR and Cuban teams began to make their presence felt on the Olympic boxing medal tables from the mid-1950s and early 1970s respectively. Both countries had replaced the concept of ‘professional’ sport with a comprehensive egalitarian ‘sports for all’ philosophy. The Cubans developed a scientific planning system and technical coaching methodology in their boxing programmes. … Read more
From Memoirs, a personal appearance on her balcony opposite White’s: ‘The next day, as I was sprinkling some flower pots, which stood on very broad leads, under the dining-room window, Colonel Duncombe, the Duke of Bolton, and the Earl of Winchilsea stood filling out wine, and drinking to me: So I took up the pen … Read more
At a meeting held in Dublin on 15 February 1698, the superiors of the Franciscan Order agreed to adhere to the act of banishment issued a few months earlier, ordering Catholic religious orders out of the country. The third point on the agenda was the question of material goods belonging to the friars. It was … Read more
There is an irresistible passage in Laetitia Pilkington’s 1748 Memoirs. It is her version of the dramatic moment when she was discovered by her husband, in the marital bedroom, with another man. The door was broken down (unnecessarily, since it wasn’t locked) and twelve witnesses piled in. ‘I own myself very indiscreet in permitting any … Read more