Edward Fitzgerald’s world tour aboard HMS New Zealand, 1913 By Brian McGee A notable feature of Cork’s—and, indeed, Ireland’s—maritime, cultural and family history has been service in the navy, whether the Irish Navy, the merchant marine or the British Royal Navy. Cork man Edward Fitzgerald (1876–1958) joined the Royal Navy in 1893 and served as … Read more
By Saskia Vermeulen The Irish Film Institute (IFI) is delighted to partner with History Ireland and welcome readers to visit the treasure trove of film material available for free, anywhere in the world, on the IFI Archive Player (https://ifiarchiveplayer.ie/). This virtual viewing room presents the remarkable moving-image collections held in the IFI Irish Film Archive, … Read more
By Isadore Ryan Margaret Flanagan, known as Agnes, was born in Birr army barracks on 16 May 1909. Her father, Augustine Flanagan, a private in the Leinster Fusiliers, died from tuberculosis six years later, aged 42. Her mother Kate (or Catherine, née Parsons), considerably younger than Augustine, was still living on Military Road in Birr … Read more
By Michael Kennedy In December 1922 the Irish Free State came into being. Within months it had applied to join the League of Nations, the multilateral organisation created by the post-war Paris peace conference in April 1919 to oversee international security and disarmament. The idea of the League of Nations arose from US and British … Read more
By Lar Joye When Fianna Fáil came to power in March 1932 the Irish Defence Forces consisted of 5,793 officers and soldiers. Three months later, this small army played a large role in the 31st International Eucharistic Congress, which was held in Dublin from 22 to 26 June and had been planned under the previous … Read more