The Starry Plough flag has been in the possession of the National Museum (NMI) since 1956 and has recently been conserved in commemoration of the centenaries of the foundation of the Labour Party (1912), the Dublin Lockout (1913) and the Easter Rising (1916). Funding was provided by individual contributions from members of the Labour Party. … Read more
Blinder Films TG4, 17 and 24 September and 1 October BBC1, 17 September RTÉ1, 18 September By John Gibney What is mental illness? To ask that question implies the existence of mental health, an intriguing definition of which was provided by Jim Lucey early in the first episode of Ar intinn eile: ‘the successful integration … Read more
Gaiety Theatre, Verdant Productions, 11 Sept.–25 Oct. 2014 By Donal Fallon In June 1959 the Irish Times noted that, with the success of The Hostage and his book Borstal Boy, the name of Brendan Behan ‘has become almost as well-known through theatrically-minded Europe as those of Shaw and Wilde’. Certainly, the Dubliner captivated crowds, both … Read more
Christina Jessop was born in Dublin in 1878 and lived there until 1908, when she married Jack Wilson and moved with him to Cobh (then Queenstown), Co. Cork. From 1903 to 1908 she collected c. 300 picture postcards sent to her by relatives, friends and acquaintances from places as varied as London, Paris, Alaska, Switzerland … Read more
In the rush to arms, many politicians and soldiers believed that the war would be ‘over by Christmas’. With the failure of the German Schlieffen plan to defeat the allies, however, the armies on the Western Front quickly became bogged down, and all sides took to the trenches. When Christmas 1914 actually arrived, the event … Read more