By Marie Bourke Sarah Purser, painter, illustrator and stained-glass artist, was born in Dún Laoghaire in 1848 to Benjamin and Anne Purser of Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. She was related to the artists Frederic Burton and Walter Osborne. Although she had a comfortable upbringing and was educated in Switzerland, a decline in family fortunes resulted in … Read more
By John Dorney Catherine Sexton, the 60-year-old widow of a stonemason, was penned into her home in Quarry Lane, Garryowen, during fighting between pro- and anti-Treaty forces in Limerick city in July 1922. During a lull in the fighting, she ventured outside for water and was hit in the arm by a stray bullet. Evacuated … Read more
One of the peculiar features of the far-right phenomenon in Ireland is its denial of its own existence. That, apparently, is a trope of the ‘mainstream media’. While it is true that the recent surge in international protection applicants has been badly handled by the government and that many decent people have been caught up … Read more
By Joseph E.A. Connell Often called ‘the greatest blessing of all’, the Old Age Pensions Act (1908) introduced a non-contributory pension for ‘eligible’ people aged 70 and over. It came into law in January 1909 across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The pension was open to both men and women, both married and single, and … Read more
JACK TRAYNOR McFarland Books £49.71 ISBN 9781476693262 Reviewed By Brian Hanley Brian Hanley is the presenter of the ‘Dirty War in Dublin’ podcast, supported by a Royal Irish Academy Decade of Centenaries bursary. In December 1944 General Eoin O’Duffy, the former leader of Ireland’s best-known fascist movement, the Blueshirts, was buried with full military honours … Read more