CK: What is the nature of this collection? VL: The Bureau of Military History was established by the government in 1947 with the remit of gathering material relating to the period 1913 to 1921. So they set about establishing who was alive and interviewing those people. CK: What kind of people were they looking for? … Read more
Our neglect and ignorance of some important figures in early twentieth-century Ireland were highlighted recently during the transcription and publication of the Heads of Household Index to the 1851 census of Ireland for Dublin City compiled by D.A. Chart. In the light of the destruction of nineteenth-century Irish census returns housed in the Public Records … Read more
In June 1541 King Henry VIII began to style himself ‘king of Ireland’, abandoning the title of ‘lord’ which English kings had used for four centuries. It has long been assumed that the English kings from Henry II to Henry VII were content to rule Ireland as lords, but the events of the later years … Read more
John Redmond and his party have been treated kindly by academic historians. For the most part, they have accepted the view of his followers, Stephen and Denis Gwynn, that he was a man of immense achievement brought low by factors outside his control, notably the chauvinism of the British War Office and the literal bloody-mindedness … Read more
When Michael William Balfe returned to Dublin in November 1838 it was his first visit to his native city since his departure in 1823 at the age of fifteen. The years spent abroad had brought great fame and success to the young Dubliner. Early career Balfe was born on 15 May 1808 at 10 Pitt … Read more