Nick Maxwell By 1871 ‘Captain’ Charles Cunningham Boycott had been on Achill Island for seventeen years and had proven himself to be a good and successful farmer in a hostile and challenging environment; quite understandably, he wanted to move on to farm better land on the mainland, somewhere he could race his horses and be closer to … Read more
November’s Hidden History documentary on the killing of the Pearson brothers, Richard and Abraham, at Coolacrease, Co. Offaly, in June 1921 struck a raw nerve. The subsequent comment in the press, radio and on the web generated more heat than light and highlighted the extent to which comment about the War of Independence period is … Read more
Judging by our letters pages, Seán South of Garryowen continues to excite interest amongst our readers. Des Fogarty’s Seán South of Garryowen (A.K. Ilen Company, 141pp, e24 pb, ISBN 9780954791520), while adding little to our knowledge of the Brookeborough raid itself, is particularly strong on South’s early career and childhood. South’s conservatism was very much … Read more
One of the more remarkable structures in the country is the Dennis mausoleum, located in the old Clonbern graveyard, 21km north-east of Tuam, Co. Galway. It was erected in about 1865 to house the remains of Colonel Maurice Griffin Dennis (1805–63) and his wife Elizabeth, and they lie there still. After a successful military career … Read more
COOKE, Adolphus (1792–1876), was born in Cookesborough near Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, the illegitimate son of Robert Cooke, landowner, and an unnamed servant. Adolphus’s mother was sent away, and he was raised by a nurse, Mary Kelly, in a two-roomed thatched cottage, forbidden to visit his father’s house. Educated in England, he joined the army, serving … Read more