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

Unseemly demarcation disputes

Throughout most of 1913 it was rather difficult for the police and Ulster unionists themselves to define the difference between UVF units proper and Unionist Clubs that were drilling with increasing frequency. Indeed, in South Down there were unseemly demarcation disputes between Unionist Clubs and UVF headquarters over who should appoint officers for the new … Read more

Death and taxes: tobacco-growing in Ireland

If Benjamin Franklin’s axiom assures us of the certainty of two things only—death and taxes—the Irish can add further to that list, and indeed link the two. For what was an Irish death without an Irish wake, and what was an Irish wake without an abundance of tobacco? And what were such proportions of consumption … Read more