Before 1951 only a few people in Ireland owned a TV set. There was no Irish television service and little prospect of one. Some owners were householders with the money to spend and a taste for the latest novelty. There were also some radio and electronics experimenters who built receivers from kits with military surplus … Read more
The month of July is named after Caius Julius Caesar—‘husband to every man’s wife, and wife to every woman’s husband’. But in Northern Ireland July is unquestionably the month of King Billy. The first half is taken up annually with the various events surrounding the commemoration of William’s victory in 1690 over his uncle and … Read more
Omagh-born Labour PRO John Devine enjoyed a particularly good rapport with the Northern activists. Before joining the staff in Labour’s head office in October 1968, he had been a journalist with the Irish Times for fifteen years, and before that with the Belfast Telegraph. His contacts in the North were good to begin with and … Read more
The Orange Order in Canada David A. Wilson (ed.) (Four Courts Press, €55) ISBN 9781846820779 This collection is derived from the first conference on the Orange Order in Canada, held at St Michael’s College, Toronto, in 2005. While the majority of the articles trace the activities and development of the order in Canada from the … Read more
A chara,—I loved your story about Irish women’s athletics and the Olympic Games (HI 20.4, July/August 2012). It was very nice.—Yours etc., MAEDBH DUIGNAN (age 10) Carrick-on-Shannon