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
Between 1810 and 1870, 22 district lunatic asylums were built in Ireland to accommodate an apparently growing population of mentally ill throughout the country, and only financial constraints, it would appear, checked the system’s further growth. What factors caused this startling expansion in accommodation for the insane in Ireland? Were the Irish, as some contemporary … Read more