1916 in the de Valera papers

The de Valera papers, and a significant collection of those of his private secretary, Kathleen O’Connell, fit seamlessly into an existing collections profile within the UCD Archives that includes the papers of Frank Aiken, Seán MacEntee, Dr James Ryan and Seán and Maurice Moynihan, the last two serving at various times as private secretaries to … Read more

1966 and all that: the 50th anniversary commemorations

The timing of the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising was significant. As taoiseach, Seán Lemass was anxious to secure Ireland’s future within the European Economic Community (EEC) and had attempted to improve relations with both Britain and Northern Ireland. He constantly brought to the fore images and references to ‘modern’ Ireland so that the … Read more

The long revolution: the 1916 rising in context

It is certainly rare (and possibly fortunate!) that words spoken at an academic history conference find their way onto the front pages of leading newspapers and, by degrees, into most of the state’s principal media outlets. Such was the case with this conference to mark the 90th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The principal cause … Read more