Issue 5 (September/October 2024)

By Ruadhán MacFadden Wrestling was once a common feature of life and society in Ireland. Throughout the medieval period we see frequent literary references suggesting that it was considered a ‘must-have’ skill for any martially inclined man of the time. A young Cúchulainn quickly demonstrates his potential by effortlessly throwing ‘fifty kings’ sons’ to the … Read more

By Ruairí Nolan On a crisp, cool evening in early July 1867 the steamboat G.A. Thompson chugged its way down the Missouri River, Montana, towards Camp Cooke. As a lone sentry patrolled the upper decks, he spotted from the corner of his eye a man hastily making for the rear of the boat, dressed in … Read more

By Dermot McGuinne The nineteenth-century Irish polymath George Petrie is perhaps best remembered for his remarkable topographical watercolour paintings, his discoveries in areas of archaeological and antiquarian interest, and his extensive collection of early Irish music. Few, however, would readily associate him with the design and production of printing types. Consequently, the true measure of … Read more

By Henry A. Jefferies According to one historian, Gaelic Ireland in the sixteenth century was ‘a society in which sexual expression was uninhibited’, but that strange assertion was based on absolutely no evidence whatsoever. Indeed, it is contradicted by a basic fact of human biology: uninhibited sexual expression before modern contraceptives became available could have … Read more