At Clermont on 27 November 1095 Pope Urban II made an appeal to his French audience to cease fighting one another and to turn to the east against non-Christian enemies. Urban might well have been wanting to raise a force in response to an appeal for help by the Orthodox Christian emperor at Constantinople, but … Read more
As the anti-Treaty military effort collapsed towards the end of 1922, thousands of prisoners fell into Free State hands, reaching 12,000 by early 1923. Such numbers placed a massive strain on the meagre resources of the new state. At a meeting of the Executive Council on 19 September 1922, it was agreed that the British … Read more
On Bodmin Moor in Cornwall there are three circles of standing stones known as ‘The Hurlers’. Legend has it that men of the area broke the Sabbath by playing the game and, as a consequence, were instantly turned to stone. It may come as a surprise to find the game of hurling associated with Cornwall, … Read more
In March 1867 the Irish Constabulary was preparing to defend against a strong Fenian rising in County Dublin, which could possibly spread around the country. My great-grandfather, Head Constable Richard Adams, with fourteen constables, was in charge of the constabulary barracks in Kilmallock, Co. Limerick. About 4am on the morning of 6 March 1867 the … 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