John was involved in the publication of a pamphlet, No more chains! Why you should oppose the constitutional ban on abortion, knowing that what they were doing was in contravention of the law, specifically the law on censorship that actually prohibited advocacy on the issue.
20th-century / Contemporary History
Timetable
The daily timetable for the reformatories usually included six hours of work and three of instruction. Some children were refused admission to the schools, especially the boys’ schools, if it was considered that they were too ill to work. The children themselves sometimes tried to subvert the system by feigning illness. The inspector of lunatic … Read more
Compensating for the Rising: the papers of the Property Losses (Ireland) Committee, 1916
Several hundred uncatalogued claims made by householders and business-owners between May and August 1916 have recently been discovered in the National Archives. Typically, each claim is organised into a pro-forma and a schedule of losses, followed by correspondence between insurers, solicitors and other parties. In some instances architectural drawings or contractors’ receipts are included. For … Read more
‘The North began’ . . . but when The formation of the Ulster Volunteer Force
On 25 November 1913, at the Rotunda Rink in Dublin, the Irish Volunteers were formed, with 3,000 men enrolling that evening. For the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) there is no such simple foundation story. Ronald McNeill, a Unionist MP who appeared on many platforms with Sir Edward Carson and was the first historian of the … Read more
Enniskillen Horse
What can now be identified as the first formed UVF regiment owed its inspiration to neither the Orange Order nor the Unionist Clubs. The Enniskillen Horse came into existence as a result of Sir Edward Carson’s visit to the town to launch the Ulster Covenant campaign on Wednesday 18 September 1912. The Enniskillen Horse was … Read more