BY AODHÁN Ó RAGHAILLIGH JULY 10/1992 Albert Pierrepoint (87), hangman, died.During much of the last century Pierrepoint was a household name on these islands. In fact, there were three Pierrepoints. First there was Henry Pierrepoint, who dispatched over 100 souls between 1901 and 1910 before being sacked for drunkenness. Then came his brother, Tom, followed … Read more
NOWADAYS, THE O’NEILL SURNAME IS ONE OF THE TOP TEN NAMES IN IRELAND. AN AMBITIOUS PROJECT INSTIGATED BY THE CURRENT GENERATION OF THE CLAN HOPES TO RECORD AS MANY OF THE O’NEILL FAMILIES AS POSSIBLE—OVER THE COMING YEAR—ACROSS THE GLOBE. The ancient clan claims descent from Conn Ceadcathach (Conn of the Hundred Battles), the second-century … Read more
By Sylvie Kleinman ‘For the first time in its life, the Castle was going to be popular’, was how Ishbel Gordon, Lady Aberdeen, wife of one of the last viceroys of Ireland, recalled the public’s enthusiasmfor the scheme to convert the Viceregal Apartments of Dublin Castle into a Red Cross military hospital. Because James Connolly … Read more
By Tony Canavan The 1916 Roll of Honour on-line The 1916 Roll of Honour was created on the twentieth anniversary as the official state listing of the men and women who took part in the 1916 Rising. It is comprised of 45 pages with a total of 1,665 signatures of the survivors in 1936, along … Read more
Now that the centenary commemorations of the 1916 Rising are receding in the rear-view mirror, what are we to make of the experience? In spite of the inauspicious launch of the official programme of commemoration last November (don’t mention the video!), and a palpable sense of anxiety at commemorating the events at all, official Ireland … Read more