By Jack Hepworth Founded a century ago, the Irish Free State was established as a dominion of the British Commonwealth under the Crown. For the predominantly unionist Protestant minority in the Free State, however, the formal separation from Britain prompted difficult political questions. What did it mean to be a ‘unionist’ or ‘loyalist’ after Ireland’s … Read more
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