By Ian S. Wood On 5 February 1992 five Catholics, one of them a boy aged fifteen, were murdered in Sean Graham’s betting shop on Belfast’s Lower Ormeau Road. The killers were gunmen from the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). Twenty years on from its formation it was still legal, though not for much longer, and … Read more
By Ken Boyle A worn old rent book, rescued from a skip, was to provide the opportunity and inspiration for this investigation. The compact book contained the names of the 37 tenants who occupied the nine separate units in 73 Eccles Street from 1915 to 1920, with details of their weekly payments. A coach-house and … Read more
By David Prendergast The 10th of April 1923 brought a smattering of IRA leaders and foot-soldiers into the foothills of the Knockmealdowns. After the Executive was surprised and hunted by National Army troops of Gen. John T. Prout’s ‘big sweep’, a mortal blow was delivered to the anti-Treaty IRA—the fatal shooting of Liam Lynch. Following … Read more
By Gerard Shannon As 1922 ended, Liam Lynch—chief of staff of the anti-Treaty IRA—admitted in a private communication that he did not anticipate the republican military resistance to succeed against the forces of the Irish Free State. He was responding to a warning by Eamon de Valera, who felt that the IRA should not expect … Read more
By Ronan Mulhaire Between the close of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the First World War professional wrestling, in the words of Matthew Lindaman, ‘enjoyed a status unparalleled among other sports of the time’. This stemmed from a rise in mass culture, nationalism and fin de siècle anxieties about masculinity and degeneracy. Ireland … Read more