Nick Maxwell And the Red Poppies Dance RTÉ1 11 November 2008 by John Gibney According to the late Frank Harte, the winners write the history and the losers write the songs. In the vexing case of Ireland’s relationship with the First World War this has a particular resonance. The broadly republican ethos of independent Ireland, rooted as … Read more
On the Saturday following the truce of 11 July 1921, my father, Richard Mulcahy, IRA chief-of-staff, went with my mother Min to the Gresham Hotel in O’Connell Street for afternoon tea. It was his first public appearance, having been on the run for the previous eighteen months. The well-known painter Leo Whelan was sitting close … Read more
The story of Florence Lea (right), who wore this ‘On War Service’ badge (above right), is typical of the experiences of female munitions workers in Ireland during World War I. Their story is represented in the ‘Soldiers and Chiefs’ exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland by the 18-pounder shells they made, the photos of … Read more
The German sociologist Max Weber was noted for his interest in how the geopolitical position of states affected their domestic politics. Revolutions, civil wars and coups d’état often came ‘from the outside in’, as changes in the international arena weakened central authorities and exposed dominant élites to challenges from below. In contrast, much of … Read more
Buried in the small print of the recent budget was an announcement that the government intends to merge the National Library (NLI), the National Archives (NAI) and the Irish Manuscripts Commission (IMC). Reaction was muted: opponents of the ‘plan’ could hardly compete with the ignited passions of the nation’s septuagenarians facing imminent loss of their … Read more