While Dublin Castle anticipated a revival of United Irish activity in Leinster 200 years ago, it was in New South Wales, Australia, that the republican organisation made its last show of force. The scale and potential of the Castle Hill revolt of March 1804 shocked a colonial regime that had weathered several ‘Irish plots’ between … Read more
WILDE, William Charles Kingsbury (1852–99), journalist, was born 26 September 1852 in Dublin, eldest son of Sir William Wilde, surgeon and antiquary, and his wife, the poet and journalist ‘Speranza’ (Jane Francesca Elgee). He was educated at St Columba’s College, near Dublin, and Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, and was a good if erratic … Read more
Before the Great Famine of 1845-1849, emigration had already established itself as a feature of Irish society. In the five years preceding the Famine, emigration averaged 50,000 per year, but the Famine propelled a huge rise in overall emigration as starving Irish flocked to the ships that represented hope for survival. In 1846, more than … Read more
The annual conference of the Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland (SSNCI) was held at Magee College, Derry, on 16 and 17 June 2006. Hosted by the Institute of Ulster Scots Studies at Magee, the conference focused on contacts and parallels in literature, culture and society, economy and politics. It was ably organised by … Read more
Around 130 people attended this conference, including about twenty of the Davitt family. The conference was addressed by eighteen speakers, from England, Scotland, the United States and Ireland, North and South. Following an official opening by the president of the College, Pauric Travers, the keynote address, ‘Michael Davitt in historical perspective’, was delivered by Professor … Read more