By Matt Wheeler and Duncan Laurence Situated in the old Anglo-Norman Pale of south County Wexford, Johnstown Castle dates from the 1200s. After the Cromwellian confiscations, the castle was acquired by the Grogan family, whose direct descendants lived there until 1942. The estate peaked in the mid-1800s, with Hamilton Knox Grogan Morgan possessing the largest … Read more
By Gerry O’Sullivan When Ireland takes its place at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris this month, it will mark the centenary of this country’s participation in the summer games. In a nice bit of historical symmetry, the 1924 event also took place in the French capital. Few of those present, however, … Read more
By Stephen Kelly July 2024 marks the centenary of Gerald Boland’s release from prison, following his incarceration two years before for his involvement in the Battle of Blessington in the initial weeks of the Civil War. In fact, Boland was interned the longest of all anti-Treaty prisoners, initially in Mountjoy (8 July 1922–October 1923), then … Read more
By Patrick R. Redmond Since 1896 the modern Olympic Games have been plagued by controversy. Besides Nazi manipulation, political boycotts and terrorism, there has been other low-level petty bickering; accusations of cheating and boorish displays of nationalism have also overshadowed this celebration of global sporting friendship. ONLY NATIONAL TEAMS FROM 1908 The first three Olympics … Read more
By Brian Smyth On 19 August 1874 John Tyndall, then professor of Natural Philosophy at the Royal Institution, delivered his presidential address to the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) in Belfast. This later became known as the ‘Belfast Address’. It considered the relationship of science to philosophical materialism and traced the history … Read more