Nick Maxwell In September 1796, Ireland was pregnant with expectation. The United Irishmen and Defenders planned insurrection and a French invasion was imminent. On 19 September Dublin Castle announced plans to follow Britain’s lead and enlist civilian volunteers as a yeomanry force. In October commissions were issued to local gentlemen and magistrates empowering them to raise cavalry … Read more
The last conventional battle in Irish history was fought on Sunday 12 July 1691 at Aughrim, Co. Galway. A 20,000-strong Irish Jacobite army under the command of French Lt.-Gen. St Ruth occupied a defensive position stretching over one and a half miles along the ridge from Aughrim village. On the opposite, north-east or Ballinasloe, side … Read more
In 1914 approximately 57,000 Irishmen were serving in the British Army and its reserves. It is now generally accepted that over the following four years of the Great War another 144,000 enlisted, giving a total figure of approximately 200,000. Why did they enlist? Motivation varied from the personal—restlessness, a thirst for adventure or a wish … Read more
John Toland (1670-1722) was probably born near Clonmany in Inishowen, County Donegal, into a Catholic Irish-speaking environment. As a child he courted infamy by arguing about theology with the local priest. At fifteen he converted to Anglicanism and a few years later became a Dissenter while studying in Glasgow. A restless maverick, Toland was both … Read more
The history of Irish sport is a neglected realm. There is no general history of sport in Ireland, and reliable histories of individual sports are few and far between. Yet sport contributes a significant strand to modern Irish identity. The annual Irish invasion of Cheltenham for Gold Cup week, the friendly fervour of Ireland’s soccer … Read more