Sir,—In most places, history is just history—but not in Ireland, it seems, where history is primarily politics. I find myself nonplussed by your editorial comment about a [British] royal presence in Dublin two years hence—in a journal that calls itself History Ireland? If history must be politics, let me call to mind that French President … Read more
Situated in a purpose-designed building, the Somme Heritage Centre is dedicated to Ireland and the First World War. Although located in a place with a strong unionist heritage, the centre is not solely devoted to the 36th (Ulster) Division, although naturally it features strongly. The centre itself is undergoing some important structural and administrative changes … Read more
My father’s war RTÉ 1, April 2015 For the centenary years of the First World War (2014–18) the BBC are deploying their vast resources across TV, radio and on-line platforms in what is, apparently, the single largest project they have ever undertaken: dramas, documentaries, debates, real-time accounts and much more besides are scheduled for … Read more
July 2/1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Civil Rights Act, a landmark in civil rights legislation in the United States, was passed. 5/1864 The Royal College of Physicians, Kildare Street, Dublin, was founded. It was the first medical institution in Ireland or Britain to allow women to sit its examinations. 6/1914 Eight days after the assassination … Read more
By 1911 European governments were eyeing each other with suspicion but, for the time being, social and commercial life went on. This included an international exhibition in Ghent, Belgium. On his return from Germany earlier in the year, Dubliner Captain J.A.F. Cuffe of the Royal Marine Light Infantry, now fluent in German and French, was … Read more