born 27 April 1929, died 5 October 2020 BY THOMAS O’LOUGHLIN When I was told of Margaret’s death on the morning of 6 October— she had died just before midnight the previous evening—I suddenly realised that we had been friends for nearly 40 years. In the 1970s she had been one of my teachers in … 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
So claimed British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in a speech at London’s Guildhall on 9 November 1920 in response to the IRA’s escalating guerrilla war. Already, in September, the demoralised and depleted RIC had been augmented by Auxiliary Cadets in an effort to counter IRA flying columns and ‘fight fire with fire’. And in … Read more