The controversy over judicial garb was indicative of two larger issues—judicial independence from the executive and Irish freedom from Britain. The former was important to unionists because they were relying on independent courts to protect their rights. In their opinion, judges could not be independent if their dress was determined by the executive. On the … Read more
It is thought that the remarkable lodge on Mount Pelier Hill was erected c. 1725. The game-rich lands in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains had come into the possession of William Conolly of Castletown House when he purchased Rathfarnham Castle in 1724, and this hilltop with its spectacular views must have seemed an ideal … Read more
Like most places in Ireland, Athy, Co. Kildare, boasts hundreds of nicknames, some unique to the individual, some family nicknames, others specific to a townland or street. When renowned photographer John Minihan presented his Athy collection to Samuel Beckett, the playwright observed that they were both capturing the same angle of the soul. The photos … Read more
Once a man was consecrated a bishop of the Anglican church, he had a seat in the House of Lords. Bishops were especially loyal to Dublin Castle because, as Jeremiah Falvey has shown in his ground-breaking study of the eighteenth-century episcopate, 40 of them owed their elevation to the fact that they had been chaplains … Read more
After the partial repeal of Poynings’ Law in 1782, the Irish House of Lords became a much more important body than before. The Lords represented the great landowners and the Anglican Church; therefore, from 1782 to 1800, it required the best efforts of government in its management, thus demonstrating its true political significance. Support of … Read more