A Journey of Remembrance: Wilson’s Hospital & the First World War

by David Robertson   It all began in the classroom in Wilson’s Hospital school. Why, my Leaving Certificate history pupils wanted to know, did so many Irishmen enlist for the Great War. I endeavoured to explain. The class remained unconvinced. The formal reasons lacked a vital ingredient, human interest. We walked across to the chapel … Read more

Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies

  The Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen is the first of its kind in the world. It is a unique interdisciplinary centre of excellence that offers taught masters and doctoral programmes in history, language, literature and culture of Ireland and Scotland and carries out research across these disciplines. … Read more

‘In spite of all impediments’: the early years of the Irish diplomatic service

Michael Kennedy   Addressing the Dáil on 27 October 1919, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Count George Plunkett, reported ‘a steady progress’ in the development of Ireland’s foreign relations ‘in spite of all impediments’. These impediments were many and they hampered all Dáil Éireann agents abroad. On his first visit to the United States as … Read more