MÓH: What stimulated your interest in history? PJ: One was an inspirational history teacher, Mr ‘Dan’ Dare of Dame Alice Owen’s school in Islington. The other was my family, amongst whom politics was the staple topic of conversation. My family was very divided, some on the left and some on the right. I also had … Read more
On 27 November 1865 a special trial began at Green Street courthouse in Dublin. The Special Commission of Oyer and Terminer allowed the court to examine the cases of several prisoners associated with the Irish People newspaper and the Fenian Brotherhood. The most serious charge was treason-felony. The Treason-Felony Act had been passed in 1848 … Read more
The general elections of 1885–6 can be regarded fairly as a milestone in modern Irish political history. In part their importance lies in the fact that they were fought under a new, much-widened franchise and that they witnessed the appearance of modern types of party organisation. In greater part, however, their significance arises because the … Read more
Gael, revolutionary, soldier, chief of police, founding president of Fine Gael: during his short and controversial public life General Eoin O’Duffy played many roles. His place in the public memory, however, is largely bound up with just one of them: fascist. O’Duffy’s decision to lead the Blueshirt movement after his removal as commissioner of the … Read more
Before John F. Kennedy, arguably no Irish-American rose as high in American esteem as Philip Henry Sheridan, who became general-in-chief of the United States Army in 1883. In 1888, on his deathbed, Sheridan became only the fourth person to be promoted to the rank of General of the Army. When it is realised that the … Read more