On May Eve 1858 a fierce storm blew across the west coast of Ireland. On Sunday 2 May, some boys cutting through Drumcliff graveyard, about a mile and a half outside Ennis, Co. Clare, made a shocking discovery—a grave had been excavated, and a coffin that had been buried 7ft deep had been forced open. … Read more
Ralph Westropp Brereton had died on Tuesday 23 March 1858, at the age of 60, in Clonroad House, Ennis. Born into a family with a small estate at Ballyadams, Co. Laois, Brereton had served in the navy from 1813 to 1818, retiring after inheriting his father’s estate upon his elder brother’s death. In 1826 he … Read more
In the early twentieth century Ballymena, Co. Antrim, was a self-confident heartland of Ulster unionism. As a market town it stood at the heart of a thriving agricultural district. As an industrial centre it possessed textile mills and foundries, offering employment to thousands of workers and wealth to local entrepreneurs. A busy railway connected the … Read more
Ballymena was also the site of some of the most lavish displays of unionist street-theatre during the Home Rule crisis. The most striking example occurred on the occasion of a visit in July 1913 by Sir Edward Carson. Sir Arthur O’Neill MP had been a soldier in the Life Guards cavalry regiment, whose job it … Read more
A collection of George Young’s UVF correspondence has recently emerged, allowing us to trace the story of the mid-Antrim Ulster Volunteers and affording great insight into the way provincial leaders of unionism thought and acted, as they contemplated a devolved Dublin parliament and the loss of liberty and prosperity that they believed would ensue. These … Read more