TG4 and BBC2 NI, 9 and 13 October 2024 By Sylvie Kleinman ‘Did you never hear tell of the skulls they have in the city of Dublin, ranged out like blue jugs in a cabin of Connaught?’ A character in Synge’s Playboy of the Western World (1907) had supposedly seen them in Trinity College, Dublin. … Read more
By Joseph E.A. Connell Jr Marriage was often afforded high status as a societal stabiliser in newly established states, and the Irish Free State, operative from 1922, was no exception. Unlike Northern Ireland, which adopted the parliamentary system of divorce, the Irish Free State provided no mechanism for private bills of divorce to proceed. Although … Read more
By Niamh Brennan In 1825 the Commissioners for Irish Education recommended the establishment of a national school system in Ireland. This was agreed upon and implemented by the British administration in Ireland by 1831. The British government’s main overall objective was to establish tighter control of the Irish population, and to reduce the influence of … Read more
By Anna Rose Garvey Benjamin True Gault (1858–1942) was an American conservationist and ornithologist. On his travels to observe, record and film birds, he visited Cork and Kerry in 1925–6. During this period in Ireland he was able to capture many seabirds and wildlife, as well as the daily lives of the people of the … Read more
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