Throughout Ireland there are monuments, place-names, pitches and pavilions that convey the story of where and how the Irish played. No inventory of these sites currently exists, however. Sporting sites tell us a great deal about how societies are organised by class, gender, religion and social status. They are linked to the social and cultural … Read more
In 1608–9, through a mixture of threats and promises from James I, the City of London become involved in the most planned and orderly of the various plantation schemes in Ireland. Fifty-five of its livery companies eventually became financial backers of the plantation, and in return their governing body, the Irish Society, received a royal … Read more
The construction of Derry/Londonderry’s Guildhall and its stained glass windows was financed by the Honourable the Irish Society to replace an earlier town hall destroyed by fire in 1908. Reporting on the opening ceremonies, the London Times of 21 September 1912 declared that ‘. . . The Londonderry Guildhall is a fine modern building, the … Read more
The establishment of a Diocesan Library and the Diocesan Free School were intended to provide the diocese of Derry with a seat of learning. Established in 1617, shortly after the appointment of George Downham as bishopand following the visit to Derry of two assistants of the Irish Society, George Smithies and Matthias Springham, the latter decided … Read more
The Fenian problem: insurgency and terrorism in a liberal state Brian Jenkins (Liverpool University Press, £65) ISBN 9781846311758 Some contemporary writers on terrorism argue that the British government’s response to Fenianism set a pattern of moral panic and the repression of civil liberties that has characterised state responses to such challenges down to the … Read more