Viscount Hugh Gough—an ‘illustrious Irishman’ and controversial British military commander

The National Library of Ireland recently catalogued and made available the Gough papers, a collection relating to Hugh Gough and his family. The papers reveal much about the life of this ‘illustrious Irishman’ and his lengthy military career.   By Fionnuala Walsh In 1986 an equestrian statue depicting Viscount Hugh Gough and describing him as … Read more

‘A mixture of flattery and insult’

Women’s opposition to the 1937 Constitution. By Joyce Padbury The women’s campaign against the 1937 Constitution was a short and, in the end, unsuccessful intervention in a major political debate, though it did initially achieve amendments to some provisions of the draft document. The campaign is worth remembering as a lively articulation of feminist opinion … Read more

Votes for women (and men): the Representation of the People Act 1918

While recent attention has naturally focused on the significance of the Act for the extension of the franchise to women, this was only one of its provisions. By Brian Walker The Representation of the People Act brought in a number of changes to electoral laws that had an important effect on the 1918 general election. … Read more