At the beginning of its centenary year, the Abbey Theatre continues to play an important role in Irish cultural life. Just what this role should be and to what extent the Abbey lives up to the enormous expectations generated by its position as the National Theatre are questions which are alive today, much as they … Read more
TC: When did you become involved with the Dictionary of Irish Biography? JMcG: I became involved with the DIB in the early 1990s when I was approached by the then president of the Royal Irish Academy, Aidan Clarke. I was asked to be one of the executive editors, the others being Aidan Clarke himself and … Read more
The National Archives of Ireland has produced a CD-rom, Counties in time, containing almost a thousand documents selected from its holdings. Eneclann, a historical research company, was contracted to select and prepare content, while Lendac Data Systems produced the CD. The records chosen exist, in nearly all cases, for the 32 counties of Ireland, and … Read more
James Lyttleton explores the dichotomy between the theory and practice of plantation by examining the surviving buildings of seventeenth-century west Offaly. The consequences of the social, economic and cultural transformations of the early modern period upon the Irish landscape were significant, affecting the way people interacted with their families, friends, neighbours and strangers. For the … Read more
Padraig Lenihan assesses William of Orange’s performance at the Battle of the Boyne. When he painted William of Orange, as he did so many times, Jan Wyck (1652–1700) was especially fond of posing his hero gripping a sword in his right hand, looking at the viewer, and sitting calmly atop a rearing white horse. The … Read more