Daniel Davitt was, like so many of the Irish Volunteer Army, an ordinary working man. At the time of the Easter Rising he was 30 and living in the tenements of Russell Street, Dublin, with his wife, Elizabeth and two small children, Vincent and Eileen. The family were poor but proud, just about surviving on … Read more
The village of Lisaniska, in which I was born lies six miles east of Castlebar. Shaped roughly like a horse-shoe, it was created or rather re-created at the beginning of the 20th C by the Congested Districts Board on land purchased from Lord Lucan. Each of ten families, migrants from the Pontoon area, received a … Read more
Political Lessons in Castleblayney The 8th of March 1976 was a memorable school day for me but for the wrong reasons. The night before, a loyalist bomb had exploded in my hometown of Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan, killing one man and devastating its centre. Although my primary school, Annalitten NS, is situated three miles from town, … Read more
In this year of centenary commemorations of the Easter Rising, I recall my happy discovery two years ago of a photo that reminded me – nostalgically – of my own role in the commemorations of the Rising, half a century ago. I was perusing Ernie O’Malley’s book, On Another Man’s Wound, given to me by … Read more
On the 30th Nov 1920 during the War of Independence a tram was travelling down North Frederick Street Dublin when it was suddenly stopped by the Black & Tans . They boarded the tram and arrested a 47 year old man. They brought him to the North Dublin Union where he was imprisoned in harsh … Read more