Liam Mellows’s political beliefs have been largely overlooked owing to the paucity of his surviving writings and the fundamentally awkward questions that his life—or, more precisely, his death—presents for both the constitutional and revolutionary political traditions. His unguarded reflections contained in this six-page letter to a possibly uncritical admirer (we don’t have Miss Herbert’s letter) … Read more
After the signing of the Entente Cordiale in 1904 between the French and the British, Irish separatists quickly turned towards the Germans as potential allies. Kaiser Wilhelm II was in fact closely following the Irish crisis. He was personally kept informed by Dr Theodor Schiemann, a historian, who was secretly corresponding with George Freeman. Freeman was a … Read more
The years between 1890 and 1907 saw major realignment in the system of European alliances. Briefly put, it resulted in the strategic encirclement of Germany and Austria-Hungary by the Triple Entente of France, Russia and Britain. Although the Triple Entente looked formidable, its military agreements remained ill defined, especially where Britain was concerned. As the … Read more
For the first two decades of the GAA’s existence, rugby rather than Gaelic football was seen by many as Kerry’s pre-eminent sport. That rugby should have attained popularity in the county is hardly surprising. The traditional game of ‘caid’ had been popular among the Kerry peasantry for centuries. Rugby’s spread into Kerry in the early 1880s was … Read more
O’Sullivan was born in Listowel in 1874. He developed an early interest in the GAA and in 1893 at the age of nineteen became secretary of the newly formed Listowel Temperance Football Team. In 1899 he became secretary of the Listowel GAA. He was appointed county secretary after the Kerry board was reformed in 1900. … Read more