O’KELLY, Countess Mary de Galway (1905–99), Belgian resistance operative, was born on 24 April 1905 in Dublin, one of ten children of Thomas Patrick Cummins, a plumber, of Waterfall Cottage, Richmond Road, Dublin, and his wife, Ellen Black. Mary attended Fairview National School before moving to the Dominican College in Eccles Street. Showing a remarkable … Read more
It all came about as Europe flirted with fascism in the pre-war years. Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, and another fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, had held power in Italy since 1922. In the 1930s both these leaders—together with Salazar in Portugal, Franco in Spain and Petain in France—wielded immense power and influence as continental … Read more
On 14 August 2007 a Viking longboat arrived in Dublin amidst much fanfare. While this would have been fairly unremarkable during Dublin’s heyday as a Viking trading port, in 2007 the novelty of the event guaranteed crowds of onlookers, an army band, at least one overly enthusiastic traffic cop and numerous public representatives. The longboat … Read more
According to documents placed on the Department of the Environment website by the current minister, John Gormley, the Lismullen site is a circular enclosure 80m in diameter, formed of a double row of stake-holes, about 2m apart. Each stake-hole is about 10–15cm in diameter. The site was discovered as topsoil was being stripped as part … Read more
In the run-up to the soccer World Cup of 2002 the bust-up between Ireland manager Mick McCarthy and star player Roy Keane in Saipan caused a huge controversy and divided the nation. This was not the first time that the ‘beautiful game’ caused upheaval in Irish society. Back in the 1950s the ‘garrison town game’ … Read more