By Fiona Fitzsimons In 1831 the Board of Public Works was established by a parliamentary act. It assumed the powers of several pre-existing bodies, combining them into one. The Board had permanent powers and a range of concerns beyond those of its English counterpart. It could set up relief projects, for example, including public work … Read more
By Billy Shortall The 1933–4 Chicago World’s Fair, also known as the Century of Progress Exposition, celebrated the development of Chicago into a modern city. The recently elected Fianna Fáil-led government decided that Ireland should be represented at the spectacle, despite civil servants’ recommendation against participation. They cited the considerable costs involved as an obstacle, … Read more
By Hugh Stephenson ‘Did he blaze?’ The question, reported by Jonah Barrington to establish the character of a young man, reflected the rage for duelling in Ireland in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Dueling has a long history in Ireland and originated in judicial trials by combat. The practice of dueling was effectively … Read more
By Daire Brunicardi The naval dockyard that the government of the Irish Free State took over in 1923 was an extensive site of docks, workshops, stores, accommodation, residences, oil storage and pumping systems, electricity generation, cranes, a railway all around the island and a large hospital. While it was a major facility and employer in … Read more
By Thomas P. Power Predictions about the end of the world became common in the wake of the French Revolution. In Ireland such predictions took different forms. Highly influential was a volume entitled in part A general history of the Christian Church, first published in 1771. Its author was an English Catholic bishop, Charles Walmesley … Read more