Modern postal services date back to 1840, when the first ‘penny post’ was introduced in Ireland and Britain by (Sir) Rowland Hill, the British tax and social reformer; until then, letters were charged on a sliding system based on distance to be carried. Cheap pre-paid postage at a uniform rate, and speedy delivery through the … Read more
Vietnam seemed an unlikely arena for what would become ‘Johnson’s War’, but the US had been engaged in south-east Asia since World War II. In 1940 France lost control of its colony, Indochina (Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam), to Japan. A Vietnamese independence movement, comprised of intellectuals and nationalists, was determined to resist the return of … Read more
Dan Keating’s political leanings stemmed from his background, some of his uncles having been militant in land agitation in the years following the Famine. In two interviews for a BBC Radio Ulster documentary on his life, Keating recalled how his past shaped his future. ‘One branch of the family was very militant. At the time … Read more
At a meeting held in Dublin on 15 February 1698, the superiors of the Franciscan Order agreed to adhere to the act of banishment issued a few months earlier, ordering Catholic religious orders out of the country. The third point on the agenda was the question of material goods belonging to the friars. It was … Read more
In June 1947 the Irish economy continued to display the effects of wartime dislocation: rationing, rising inflation, falling living standards and frequent strikes. Ireland also shared many of the prevailing European economic trends: increasing reliance on the dollar area for imports and a worsening balance of payments position. While the war had left Ireland with … Read more