Mary Size (1883–1959)—forgotten Irish pioneer of British penal reform. By Ruairí Ó hAodha Myra Hindley claimed that she was glad that it was dark when she was driven through the gates of Holloway Prison, London, in 1966, as she avoided having to view its forbidding Victorian façade. Hindley had narrowly avoided the hangman for her … Read more
The early career of Paschal Robinson OFM, the first papal nuncio to the Irish Free State, 1929–48. By Thomas J. Morrissey SJ Charles Robinson, the future papal nuncio to the Irish Free State, was born on 26 April 1870 at 49 Percy Place, then a row of fairly new houses along the Grand Canal. When … Read more
The Right Honourable Senator Hugh Thom Barrie JP, DL, MP was at the heart of Ulster Unionist politics at a time of great campaigning and political battles. But who was he? By Aaron Callan H.T. Barrie is not as well known as Carson or Craig, even in his adoptive town of Coleraine. In most books … Read more
By Fiona Fitzsimons This collection, the earliest run of travel documents, survives in the Augmentation Office papers in the Exchequer records of the UK National Archives. The Office derived from the Court of Augmentation, a financial court; the safe conduct of travellers was guaranteed by the Crown, for which it was also a useful source … Read more
Friendly societies played a vital role in mitigating the worst material consequences of illness and hardship. By Joe Fodey The Irish National Foresters (INF) was probably the most famous and influential of the many friendly societies operating in Ireland during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In its heyday it had branches throughout Ireland and … Read more