The 1974 Ulster Workers’ Council strike and fears of British withdrawal. By Ian Wood The high drama of August 1969, with communal violence breaking out in Northern Ireland and a troubled Taoiseach Jack Lynch telling RTÉ viewers that the State ‘can no longer stand by and see innocent people injured and perhaps worse’, has been … Read more
The question of Haughey’s involvement in this bizarre series of events continues to fascinate. By Stephen Kelly The true extent of Charles J. Haughey’s role in attempts to import guns and ammunition in order to arm Northern republicans during the winter of 1969 and the early months of 1970 has never been definitively established. The … Read more
An incisive thinker with a flamboyant personality, she was a leading figure in the ‘Golden Age of female philosophy’. By John Hayes Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe, the most considerable female philosopher of the twentieth century writing in English, was born in Limerick on 18 March 1919 and was baptised in St Mary’s Church of Ireland … Read more
The contrasting fortunes of Lisburn’s two RIC district inspectors. By Ciaran Toal On 19 August 1920, the magistrates for County Antrim gathered in Lisburn’s courthouse, gifted to the town by Sir Richard Wallace (1818–90), to present an inscribed plate to Mr Vere Gregory (1871–1957). For ten years Gregory had served as RIC District Inspector (DI) … Read more
Irish posters for the Empire Marketing Board (EMB). By Billy Shortall In the aftermath of the Irish Civil War and in tough financial times, the Irish economy struggled to the extent that Minister for Finance Ernest Blythe infamously reduced teachers’ salaries and cut a shilling off the old age pension in 1924. Two years later, … Read more