Rathdowney, Co. Laois www.donaghmoremuseum.ie By Tony Canavan Situated between the M7 and M8, near the town of Rathdowney, the Donaghmore Workhouse and Agricultural Museum is worth leaving the motorway for if you want to break your journey. This complex of buildings has survived almost intact since the mid-nineteenth century despite undergoing a number of changes … Read more
The impact of print may have been more muffled than initially supposed. By Toby Barnard Between 1550 and 1800 almost 30,000 different publications were printed in Ireland. This development, accelerating from the 1720s, has been seen as the motor driving enlightenment, secularisation, rationalism, nationalism, material and mental betterment, ‘modernity’, political engagement, restlessness and ultimately, in … Read more
Fenagh, Co. Leitrim By Julie Marshall St Catherine’s Church, Fenagh, was erected in 1787 with the help of a gift of £360 from the Board of First Fruits, a body established in 1711 to construct and improve churches and glebe houses throughout Ireland; from 1777 supplemental grants from the Irish parliament fostered a nationwide programme … Read more
The life of John Roy Lynch, whose political career during Reconstruction is one of the most remarkable achievements in the pantheon of Irish-American politics. By Joe Regan On 3 November 1939, the New York Times reflected on the political career of the recently deceased John Roy Lynch, remarking that he was ‘one of the most … Read more
The life and times of John Philpot Curran. By Patrick Gageby Sadly, barristers are not now as popular as they used to be. John Philpot Curran was probably the most widely known barrister, Irish or British, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. His speeches were reprinted throughout the nineteenth century, and in Ireland … Read more