The 2014 Kenmare Chronicle: your town, your community, your history. Irish heart, English blood: the making of Youghal (History Press Ireland, ?18 pb, 224pp, ISBN 9781845888220). Medieval and monastic Derry: sixth century to 1600 (Four Courts Press, ?24.95 hb, 176pp, ISBN 9781846823831). Thomas Clarke (O’Brien Press, ?12.99 pb, 272pp, ISBN 9781847172617). Seán MacDiarmada (O’Brien Press, … Read more
When Lord Frederick Cavendish was killed by the Invincibles in the Phoenix Park in May 1882, nothing like it had happened in British political life since Prime Minister Spencer Percival was shot dead in the lobby of the House of Commons in 1812. Percival is the only British prime minister to have been assassinated, and … Read more
I have to admit that I felt apprehensive about visiting this museum. It was a bit like entering the lion’s den to go into the headquarters of one of the loyal orders. The big friendly posters outside did not help and the welcome from the porter was not exactly warm, although that may have been … Read more
Is Ireland traditionally associated with a particular mode of transport? Britain, after all, will always be associated with the seafaring prowess that laid the military and economic foundations for global dominance, and the very existence (not to mention influence) of the United States in its current form is inextricable from the development of the automobile. … Read more
As early as May 1975 the Irish Times noted that ‘many people seem to have forgotten that the bombings ever took place’. Over the years other atrocities, such as Bloody Sunday, Bloody Friday, Enniskillen and Omagh, have loomed far larger in the public imagination. Bombings carried out by the IRA, such as at Warrington in … Read more