When we think of revolutionaries in late nineteenth-century Ireland, we think of Fenians rather than the anarchist agitators who were then making their presence felt on the Continent. Irish revolutionary thought focused on republicanism rather than on class politics—at least until the twentieth century. This is understandable, as neither Marxism nor anarchism had many adherents … Read more
HAUGHTON, James (1795–1873), social reformer and philanthropist, was born on 5 May 1795 in Carlow town, the eldest son of Samuel Pearson Haughton, corn merchant, and his wife Mary (née Pim) of Ruskin, Queen’s County. Although both parents left the Society of Friends shortly after his birth, James was educated at the Quaker school in … Read more
It was the Stuarts who introduced the Irish to the slave trade. Charles II returned to the throne in 1660 at a time when it was becoming clear that sugar plantations were as valuable as gold-mines. The Royal Africa Company (RAC) was established to supply slaves to the British West Indies in order to extend … Read more
The History of the Irish Soldier by Brigadier Ted Bredin is dedicated to ‘all Irish soldiers who fought the good fight for the justice of their particular cause’. My great-great-great-uncle, Colonel Joseph Willcocks, who grew up in Dublin, does not appear in it. A Canadian magazine announced in 2008 that it was looking for Canadians … Read more
On 29 November 1853 John Mitchel arrived in New York City, having escaped from the penal colony of Van Diemen’s Land. He had been one of the most prominent and militant members of the Young Ireland movement, and had served five years of a 14-year sentence of transportation after being convicted of treason felony in … Read more