BY TONY CANAVAN Drought and lockdown lucky for archaeologist Marion Dowd, an archaeologist and local resident, was marking the easing of Covid-19 restrictions with a picnic on the shore of Lough Glencar (on the Sligo–Leitrim boundary) in June with her son Fiachra (12) and another family member when she spotted hundreds of pieces of chert, … Read more
BY AODHÁN CREALEY NOVEMBER 07/1831 The Ralahine Agricultural and Manufacturing Co-operative Association was launched by John Scott Vandeleur on his 618-acre estate near Bunratty, Co. Clare. Inspired by Robert Owen (1771–1858), the pioneer of the co-operative movement, Vandeleur hoped to discourage his tenants from joining agrarian secret societies, to encourage them to raise common capital—so … Read more
By John Cunningham This year is the bicentenary of James Hardiman’s The history of the town and county of the town of Galway, ‘one of the most reflective of … a remarkable cluster’ of Irish urban histories published in the early nineteenth century, according to David Dickson. For Hardiman, his endeavour was a patriotic duty … Read more
By Tony Canavan I first came across this poster advertising Matt. D’Arcy’s Irish whiskey in an art gallery in Dublin about fifteen years ago. It is a distinctive image of a barefooted Hibernia, a harp slung over her shoulder and an Irish wolfhound at her feet. She is pointing over agricultural fields to the town … Read more