A father’s tribute? The war trophies of Lieutenant Nevill Coghill VC

In 1879 Sir John Joscelyn Coghill of Drumcondra visited the Museum of Science and Art in Dublin (now the National Museum of Ireland) to donate a number of ethnographic items gathered by his eldest son, Lieutenant Nevill Coghill. The collection was made up of tribal military equipment from Southern Africa, captured by Nevill the previous … Read more

The Great Famine general election of 1847

The ultimate responsibility for failure to cope effectively with the disaster of the Famine lay with the Westminster parliament, but we should remember that Ireland in 1847 returned 105 MPs to Westminster. A unified effort by all these MPs could have changed government policies. No such agreed approach emerged and there was a serious failure … Read more