CULLENSTOWN, CO. WEXFORD By Damian Murphy Vernacular houses are a familiar but increasingly endangered hallmark of the Irish landscape. They are informal in character, designed and built by their original owners without professional input, instead using planning formulae and traditional techniques often with distinct regional characteristics passed down through generations. They make extensive use of … Read more
By Colum Kenny There is an ironic twist to the circumstances of the birth of Éamon de Valera, then named ‘George de Valero’, in a Protestant charitable institution. Given that he is the politician who dominated the evolution of the Irish nation state in the twentieth century—with its paraphernalia of Magdalene laundries, mother-and-baby homes and … Read more
The maps used by the British Army from 1969. By Arnold Horner When the Northern Ireland Troubles erupted in the late 1960s, modern methods of identifying location using GPS (Global Positioning Systems) and of electronic surveillance from drones were still largely glints in the eyes of senior superpower intelligence personnel. Much less sophisticated, and less … Read more
By Conor Carley WHY I PICKED THIS TOPIC I picked this topic because I love reading about the War of Independence. Even more interesting to me is the fact that a relative, James O’Donoghue, fought and died in that war. The O’Neill side of my family have always lived in Bandon. My grandfather, Brendan, owned … Read more
By Fiona Fitzsimons After the 1641 Rebellion, the Confederate Wars and the Cromwellian Conquest, the Commonwealth was obliged to redeem debts owed to soldiers and adventurers with land in Ireland seized from Catholic rebels. The Civil Survey (1654– 6) was the first step in discovering and describing the forfeited lands. Local commissioners were appointed to … Read more