Buried in the small print of the recent budget was an announcement that the government intends to merge the National Library (NLI), the National Archives (NAI) and the Irish Manuscripts Commission (IMC). Reaction was muted: opponents of the ‘plan’ could hardly compete with the ignited passions of the nation’s septuagenarians facing imminent loss of their … Read more
The maritime town of Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, has experienced several eras of military history since its foundation in medieval times. By the mid-Victorian period it was a significant barracks town, hosting the Antrim Artillery, a locally raised unit that provided coastal defence for this part of Ireland as well as sending artillerymen overseas to assist … Read more
Election campaigns are usually opportunities for cynical self-promotion rather than self-reflection. But when standing for election to parliament in 1828, Daniel O’Connell chose to make an honest confession about his wild early life. After the nomination of candidates in Ennis on 30 June, he took the opportunity to discuss a time ‘when the blood was … Read more
O’Brien, Ignatius John, Baron Shandon (1857–1930), lord chancellor of Ireland, was born on 31 July 1857 in Cork, ninth child and youngest son of Mark Joseph O’Brien (chandler and brewer’s agent) and Jane, daughter of William Dunne. His father lacked business capacity; the family survived in genteel poverty through the labours and sacrifices of his … Read more
There is a history of over 200 years of public health service in Ireland, and by the early nineteenth century county infirmaries, fever hospitals and public dispensaries had become the most important providers of health services. As can be imagined, the public health service, then as now, was highly political. The dispensaries in particular, and … Read more