As the Scottish comedian Arnold Browne used to say, the secret of good comedy is timing: the audience and the comedian must show up at the same time. Being even one day out made a difference, he observed. Not so where historical journals are concerned, it seems. Thus the May 2004 issue of Irish Historical … Read more
Politics, sex and death—an exhibition of the paintings of Sir William Orpen National Gallery of Ireland, Merrion Square, Dublin, until 28 August 2005 by Mark Coalter Outside his native land the celebrated war artist and society painter, Sir William Orpen, is largely overlooked. As one of the most successful Irish painters of his day, and … Read more
Hitler’s Irishman; the story of Lord Haw-Haw RTÉ 1 Written and directed by Martin Gilbert By Eamon O’Flaherty Ireland’s flirtation with Fascism and Nazism took many forms in the period between the rise of Mussolini and the end of the Second World War. There was considerable admiration for Italian Fascism in both Britain and Ireland … Read more
DUIGNAN, Mary Ann (‘Chicago May’) (1871–1929), criminal and prostitute, described by contemporary tabloid journalists as ‘the most dangerous woman in the world’, was born on 26 December 1871 in Edenmore townland, Dromard parish, Ballinamuck, Co. Longford, the eldest among two daughters and three sons of Francis Duignan and Anne Duignan (née Gray); the pet name … Read more
At a time when there is a greater acknowledgement of the role played by Irishmen in the British army, there is a group of Irishwomen with a unique claim to recognition for their humanitarian work among soldiers. Elise Sandes was the founder of a welfare movement that survives today. She was an evangelical Christian and … Read more