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
The curious case of Richard Burke, executed for murder, and the unsolved mystery of the great fire at Queen’s College, Cork, in 1862. By Pat Poland The fire at Queen’s College, Cork (QCC, later UCC), in May 1862, while not the largest, was certainly the most controversial blaze experienced in Cork in years, the repercussions … Read more
By Fiona Fitzsimons Irish traditional music is both an oral tradition and an art form. It often, though not always, has no set composer and is rooted in a community of practice. It is dynamic and subject to change as artists interpret it, but also as the knowledge and skills are passed between generations of … Read more
By Bronagh Ann McShane ‘When Cromwell left [Ireland] … he put Ireton in charge of his soldiers. Ireton came to Galway in 1652 and demanded “surrender”. Galway yielded after many months. Then Ireton’s soldiers entered the city. It is believed that the soldiers came near a Poor Clare Convent, and they made the nuns flee … Read more