By Fergus Whelan Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England, in 1737. He had worked as a staymaker and a customs officer before emigrating to the North American colonies in 1774, where he quickly found work as a journalist. He achieved international fame in January 1776 when he wrote Common sense, an influential pamphlet that … Read more
By Victoria Anne Pearson In January 1776, during the American War of Independence, Cork-born Stephen Moylan, muster-master general to George Washington’s forces, wrote to his friend Colonel Joseph Reed that he ‘should like vastly to go with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain’ to seek European aid for their … Read more
Did the premature death of George III’s father lead to the American Declaration of Independence in 1776? By Michael Turner On 4 July Americans will celebrate the Declaration of Independence, which has inspired the development of democracy worldwide over the last 250 years. The founding fathers’ elegantly crafted words in its opening and closing paragraphs … Read more