The Kildare and Meath farm labour strike, 1919. By Terry Dunne The country lanes and byways across the plains of Meath and Kildare were the setting for a showdown in the summer of 1919. According to a confidential police report, there was ‘serious dislocation’: ‘The Agricultural Show at Navan had to be abandoned, the fairs … Read more
When France’s ‘Long Fella’ found his roots. By Sylvie Kleinman On 18 June 1969, 29 years after his 1940 call from London appealing to Frenchmen to refuse defeat and resist the enemy, General Charles de Gaulle for once was not at the Mont Valérien outside Paris, France’s supreme site of commemoration of the dead of … Read more
His personal bests remain competitive in the 21st century. By Christopher Warner This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Tom Kiely, possibly Ireland’s greatest athlete. His sporting career included 53 national wins, two world titles and an Olympic gold medal in the ‘all-around’ (forerunner of the decathlon), while setting numerous world records … Read more
By Felix M. Larkin In connection with the recent purchase of Independent News & Media (INM) by Mediahuis, the chairman of INM, Mr Murdoch MacLennan, was quoted as saying that the Independent had ‘a proud and illustrious history stretching back to the start of the twentieth century’. In fact, the origin of the newspaper lies … Read more
Re-evaluating the American Civil War’s place in Irish history. By Damian Shiels On 28 June 1950, County Limerick native Jeremiah O’Brien died in Kirbyville, Texas, claiming the great age of 105 years. The vast majority of his life had passed in unremarkable fashion, lived in relative obscurity and poverty. What made his death worthy of … Read more