There are periods in the history of any football club that stand out for certain reasons and gain mythical status among its followers. Sligo Rovers’ fans fondly remember the League-winning teams of 1977 and 1983, and Shamrock Rovers their four-in-a-row champions from the mid-eighties. Years from now, people may talk about the Bohemian FC team … Read more
The Belfast-based trade unionist-turned-clergyman Revd Chris Hudson has teamed up with, amongst others, Revd John Marsden, dean of St Bridget’s Cathedral in Kildare, David Begg, ICTU, Patricia McCarthy, a community worker in Dublin’s north inner city, and Robin Frampton, a former loyalist prisoner turned peace activist, to revive interest in Francis Hutcheson, ‘the Father of … Read more
George Wilkinson (1814–90) was the architect responsible for Irish workhouses. Born in Oxfordshire into a family of builder-architects, he was appointed by the Irish Poor Law commissioners to design and supervise an ambitious programme of workhouse construction. He arrived in Ireland, aged 24, in 1839/40. A report for the Poor Law commissioners in 1839 stated … Read more
Drawing on the revered heritage of the Irish Volunteers, the Fianna Fáil government created the Volunteer Force on 6 April 1934. This part-time militia was intended to appeal to the party’s republican supporters, and to offer them an alternative to membership of the IRA. Recruiting posters stressed the specifically Irish nature of the new force, … Read more
DD: How important was family background and schooling in the development of your historical interests? RBMcD: I was born in the middle of the middle classes, so from the very earliest days I was aware of how the business world thought and lived. I also grew up in the Protestant world of the North of … Read more