*From an anti-apartheid placard protesting at the 1970 visit of the Springboks rugby team to Lansdowne Road. On Thursday 19 July 1984, Mary Manning, a cashier at Dunnes Stores in Dublin’s Henry Street, told a customer that she would not check out any Outspan grapefruits. A few minutes later she confirmed with her manager … Read more
Seán MacBride led a remarkable and varied life. Much of it was paradoxical and often controversial. He was a revolutionary, a journalist, a barrister, a statesman, a diplomat, a human rights activist and a peace campaigner. Throughout his life, however, certain objectives remained constant. They were Irish unity, the defence of political prisoners, and human … Read more
Meadhbh Lysaght In 1892 Dublin Corporation opened a wholesale fruit and vegetable market on a site immediately to the north-east of the Four Courts on the city’s north side. The main reason for its establishment was hygiene. Food was being sold off the back of carts in dirty streets. In 1883 Dublin … Read more
Daniel Mulhall delves into Joyce’s classic novel and finds it teeming with figures from Irish history History and literature are often intertwined. With the passage of time, all contemporary writing eventually becomes part of the historical record, although it must be read with care if it is to provide a helpful window on the … Read more
Irish missionary orders had a dual mission—the religious and the medico-educational—and in many of the regions where they were active the legacy of schools and hospitals bear very obvious marks of their Irish inception. Irish missionary activity was gathering momentum in the early years of the twentieth century, and there were strong connections between the … Read more