The parish of Kilmore-Erris, in the north-west of County Mayo, boasts four lighthouses, three of which—Eagle Island (1836), Broadhaven or Ballyglass (1853–5) and Black Rock (1858–62)—are attributable to George Halpin Senior (1776–1854), inspector of works and lighthouses, or his son, George Halpin Junior (1804–69). Each is a whitewashed tapering tower with a lantern encircled by … Read more
‘Bullet-throwing’, as it was almost universally called in Belfast, involved the throwing of an iron ball weighing 28 ounces along a course of two to three miles. A match or ‘score’ was most often contested by single players, but doubles matches also occurred. The winner or winners were those who completed the course with the … Read more
One of the consequences of the Crimean War (1854–6) was the abolition by parliament of access to military commissions by privilege and its replacement by public examinations, particularly for the more technical branches, artillery and engineers. The new system was also adopted by the Indian Civil Service (ICS). The change required an educational revolution at … Read more
‘Informer! A horror to be understood fully only by the Irish mind . . . Good God! An informer is the great danger’. (Liam O’Flaherty, The Informer) Probably one of the most notorious informers in Irish history was Leonard MacNally, and he is unusual in that his role was not exposed during his life and … Read more
The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland was a private institution. The Catholic clergy had pastoral duties towards their community but no civil responsibility. From the late eighteenth century, Catholic religious orders involved themselves more in education and welfare, founding specifically Catholic schools and institutions (reformatories, industrial schools, orphanages, asylums and refuges). The basic administrative unit … Read more