BY DONAL FALLON FOCUS THEATRE REMEMBERED In one of his final acts as president, Michael D. Higgins (together with his wife Sabina) unveiled a plaque to honour the Focus Theatre in Pembroke Place, Dublin. The theatre was the true inheritor of the spirit of the earlier Pike Theatre (and only slightly larger) and would bring … Read more
BY DONAL FALLON A LITERARY FEUD RECALLED The recent auction of the library of the late Tommy Smith (publican and republican) from Purcell Auctioneers produced some extraordinary sales. A rare first edition of At-Swim-Two-Birds, complete with dust-jacket, fetched a record price for a work by Flann O’Brien at auction. Most were destroyed when the warehouse … Read more
BY DONAL FALLON CLÓSCAPE The beautiful cló gaelach typeface is slowly but surely disappearing from the streets of the capital. Pre-dating independence and showing a commitment from Dublin Corporation to the language, the green and white signs dot the landscape, but many have been replaced by more modern equivalents. Funded by the Trinity Long Room … Read more
BY DONAL FALLON ROYAL HIBERNIAN ACADEMY 195th SHOW OPENS The Royal Hibernian Academy’s Annual Show has returned, running until August 2025. This is the 195th show and includes plenty that will appeal to readers of History Ireland. Mick O’Dea (RHA past president) presents a series of works capturing Druid’s recent productions of the Seán O’Casey … Read more
BY DONAL FALLON MNÁ NA hATHBHEOCHANA Good news from the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), where a new exhibition, Mná na hAthbheochana (‘Women of the Revival’), marks a significant milestone as the first Irish-language exhibition hosted by the institution. Telling the story of the women who were central to the foundation of the … Read more