Magee Presbyterian College opened in Derry in 1865 for theology studies, later providing ‘literary and scientific instruction’. It could not award general degrees, though from 1909 students could transfer to Trinity College, Dublin. Renamed Magee University College, it struggled financially—‘a small college that was nearly down and out when we took it over in 1953’, … Read more
A professor of law at the Complutense University of Madrid, Dr Wenceslao González Oliveros was a senior player in the Francoist dictatorship. After the fall of Barcelona in January 1939, he had been appointed civil governor by the minister for the interior, Serrano Súñer (General Franco’s brother-in-law), to suppress any opposition to the dictatorship. He … Read more
In 1938 and 1939, with European conflict on the horizon, Ireland was exporting around 800,000 barrels of beer annually. By 1940 and 1941, with war under way, this figure leapt closer to the million mark. These healthy export figures were thanks to the thirst for Guinness among the rapidly expanding number of men enlisted in … Read more
If it is possible to detect a new politicisation of women in Ireland during the O’Connellite era, to what extent is this manifest in the views expressed by women? It is clear from the statements of the women supporters that they were politically aware and knowledgeable about the specific demands of the Catholic Emancipation and … Read more
Haverty’s painting and the engraving convey an ambiguous message concerning women’s involvement in the Repeal movement. The shawled woman in the painting seems as interested in the political message as the men standing beside her, while other women are given more traditional or symbolic roles as female relatives or as mothers caring for infants and … Read more