THE LIFE AND DEATH OF DETECTIVE SERGEANT JOHN BARTON By Padraig Yeates If he died today in the line of duty Detective Sergeant John Barton of the Dublin Metropolitan Police would probably be declared a national hero. The Irish Times editorial of 1 December 1919 proclaimed him ‘one of the bravest, most vigilant, and most … Read more
A BOOK THAT GENERATED COLUMNS OF COMMENT IN NEWSPAPERS AND JOURNALS IN LONDON, NEW YORK, PARIS AND ELSEWHERE WAS IGNORED IN IRELAND By Dennis Kennedy One hundred years ago, on 7 September 1916, the London Times carried a short report of a case at the Bow Street magistrates’ court. The court had been asked to … Read more
MY FAMILY HAS A SPECIAL LINK WITH 1916: MY GREAT-GRAND UNCLE PADDY FIRED THE FIRST SHOT IN THE EASTER RISING By Adam Murphy My great-grand uncle was Patrick Joseph Ramsbottom, known to his family as ‘Paddy’ and to his comrades as an fear mór because he was over 6ft tall. He was born on 21 … Read more
By Ian Lawler Karl Goetz was a German satirical medallist based in Munich who is best known for the infamous Lusitania medal which, owing to an incorrect date for the sinking (two days prior to the actual event), was seized upon by the Allies as evidence that the torpedoing of the Lusitania was a planned … Read more
SECULAR FRANCE AND CATHOLIC FRANCE SET ASIDE THEIR DIFFERENCES AND ABLY USED RELIGION TO BENEFIT THEIR CAUSE DURING THE WAR By Oliver O’Hanlon One hundred years ago, in the middle of the First World War, a small group of French clergymen visited Ireland. News of their visit was reported in the Irish, British and French … Read more