HAUGHTON, James (1795–1873), social reformer and philanthropist, was born on 5 May 1795 in Carlow town, the eldest son of Samuel Pearson Haughton, corn merchant, and his wife Mary (née Pim) of Ruskin, Queen’s County. Although both parents left the Society of Friends shortly after his birth, James was educated at the Quaker school in … Read more
Skellig Michael is one of only two World Heritage Sites (WHS) in the Republic. It comprises the main monastic complex and the much smaller South Peak hermitage complex. Controversy has long dogged the Skelligs. A joint Irish–Welsh expedition raised concerns about damage caused by conservation work in the 1890s. There were controversies over the illegal … Read more
It was the Stuarts who introduced the Irish to the slave trade. Charles II returned to the throne in 1660 at a time when it was becoming clear that sugar plantations were as valuable as gold-mines. The Royal Africa Company (RAC) was established to supply slaves to the British West Indies in order to extend … Read more
In March 1972 the British government abolished the unionist-dominated parliament at Stormont but subsequently found it extremely difficult to establish a new administration. The overall parameters of a political settlement (at least as far as the British government was concerned) were clear: a power-sharing administration for Northern Ireland with both unionist and nationalist political opinion … Read more
On 29 November 1853 John Mitchel arrived in New York City, having escaped from the penal colony of Van Diemen’s Land. He had been one of the most prominent and militant members of the Young Ireland movement, and had served five years of a 14-year sentence of transportation after being convicted of treason felony in … Read more