By Robert Grendon On an autumn evening in the early 1950s, the renowned Irish novelist and playwright Brian O’Nolan (a.k.a. Flann O’Brien) was drink driving with his good friend Tommy Connolly SC, one of the most pre-eminent barristers in Ireland, as his passenger. O’Nolan was pulled over by the gardaí and brought to Donnybrook Station, … Read more
By Patrick R. Redmond Undoubtedly, the highest visibility of people of colour in Ireland has historically, together with music and acting, been in sport. Recent immigration has enlarged this catchment, with first- and second-generation athletes of African heritage like Chiedozie Ogbene and Rhasidat Adeleke becoming well-known celebrities. However, the phenomenon of the African athlete in … Read more
By Patrick Murphy Late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Cork had a reputation for political dissent and street protest. Elections were rumbunctious affairs, often descending into physical conflict. The by-election following the death of Charles Stewart Parnell (MP for Cork City) in 1891, for example, saw widespread rioting. The North and South Infirmaries were inundated with … Read more
While Daniel O’Connell’s influence on Belgium, France and Italy is relatively well known, little has been written about his impact on German-speaking lands. By Eda Sagarra When in 1806 Napoleon Buonaparte abolished the 1,000-year-old Holy Roman Empire, in which Catholics had formed a majority of the population and Catholic archbishops commanded extensive wealth and influence … Read more
By Nigel Johnston Of the significant punctuation points in pre-Famine history the cholera epidemic of 1832–3 is a subject deserving of further attention. From contemporary sources we know that the disease broke out with some force in India during 1817 and had spread through Asia, the Baltics and the rest of Europe by the late … Read more