By Lar Joye During the Emergency (1939–45) the Irish Army increased in size to 38,000 in 1942, with an additional 103,530 volunteers in the Local Defence Forces (LDF). Based on these numbers, the Irish Army was optimistic that after the war it could have an establishment of 10,000 regular soldiers, 45,000 1st line, consisting of … Read more
By Fiona Fitzsimons Civil records are the easiest of all records to find and to interpret. They document 180 years of social change in Ireland. Civil registration grew out of Ireland’s public health system. The state used the Poor Law Unions (PLUs) as Registrar’s Districts. In 1845 registration of non-Catholic marriages was introduced. The cleric … Read more
By Damian Murphy The Tipperary-born Father Theobald Mathew (1790–1856) established the Knights of Father Mathew, a Catholic temperance society, in 1838. Such was the interest in his cause—three million had taken the pledge by the mid-1840s—and such was its impact on society, particularly in the reduction in crime, that he was celebrated in his day … Read more
By Stephen Collins It was fitting that last October’s Parnell Society annual symposium on the theme of the Irish parliamentary tradition began with a focus on the political life of John Bruton, who died a year ago. Bruton was the only leader of the state in its first 100 years of independence who was clear … Read more
Sir,—Paddy Cullivan ends his thought-provoking (but provocative) piece on Tone’s death (HI 32.5, Sept./Oct. 2024) in a constructive mood, stating that he ‘could have been murdered’, and ‘we just don’t know’. This opinion piece comes after several exchanges on the topic last year, referenced here for HI readers. He states that two [unnamed] Trinity scholars … Read more