HM: What inspired you to do history? NC: My father, a primary school teacher, was interested in history and was an avid listener to Thomas Davis lectures on the radio. As an undergraduate at University College Galway I was inspired by Gerard Hayes-McCoy. He wasn’t a particularly good performer in the classroom—in fact he dictated … Read more
A remarkable period in Ireland’s military history ended when the British army’s five southern Irish regiments were disbanded in 1922.The Royal Irish Regiment and the Connaught Rangers had been raised in Ireland from about 1683 and 1793 respectively, while the Leinster Regiment, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and the Royal Munster Fusiliers had originated as Canadian … Read more
The relationship between Ireland, the Irish and Britain has always been complex. Such was the case during the World War II when the South was neutral. At the time there was a fierce defence of Irish neutrality. Indeed, by the end of the war neutrality had become almost a core value of Irish society, certainly … Read more
The conventional image of the diocesan church in late medieval Ireland is one of decay and decadence. One historian posited a degree of disorder ‘not far short of [the] total breakdown of organised religion in that…country’. However, a series of recent studies is revealing a very different picture: a church endeavouring to meet the pastoral … Read more
When the potato crop failed due to blight in 1846 it was obvious, in Ireland at any rate, that a major catastrophe was about to occur. The first failure in 1845 had been partial but it left the country debilitated with reserves run down, while individuals had few possessions left to sell or pawn. Few … Read more