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War dogs among the early Irish

Unlike the horse, the dog is not often considered an animal of war. Yet there is ample evidence that it was occasionally employed in human conflict spanning thousands of years. David Karunanithy investigates.
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Featured Articles

Making sense of Thomas Paine (1737–1809)
Making sense of Thomas Paine (1737–1809) On the bicentenary of his death, Peadar Browne reflects on the life and work of the late eighteenth-century Atlantic world’s most influential ideologue. Read More >>

‘Forced from this world’: massacre on the Mary Russell
‘Forced from this world’: massacre on the Mary Russell Helena Kelleher Kahn recounts a maritime tale so remarkable that it even pushed Daniel O’Connell and the Clare election of 1828 off the front pages of Cork’s newspapers. Read More >>

The Great Famine general election of 1847
The Great Famine general election of 1847 It is not widely realised that a general election was held in August 1847, in the middle of the Great Irish Famine. At this crucial point in our history, Irish politicians and electors had a chance to address the horrific calamity that had struck the country. Brian Walker explains how they failed to meet the challenge. Read More >>

A father’s tribute? The war trophies of Lieutenant Nevill Coghill VC
A father’s tribute? The war trophies of Lieutenant Nevill Coghill VC Damian Shiels outlines the background to one of the more exotic items in the ‘Soldiers and Chiefs’ exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks. Read More >>

The Captain and the Fenians: William Henry O’Shea and the IRB
The Captain and the Fenians: William Henry O’Shea and the IRB Myles Dungan explores a less well-known aspect of the career of the man cuckolded by Parnell’s paramour, Katharine O’Shea. Read More >>

Captain Flora Sandes: ‘the Serbian Joan of Arc’
Captain Flora Sandes: ‘the Serbian Joan of Arc’ Bryan MacMahon tells the story of the only western European woman believed to have served officially as a combatant in the First World War. Read More >>

Ailtirí na hAiséirghe: Ireland’s fascist New Order
Ailtirí na hAiséirghe: Ireland’s fascist New Order While ‘official Ireland’ was ‘neutral on the Allied side’ during World War II, what about public opinion? Apart from the Blueshirts (on whose fascist credentials there is a lack of consensus), did Ireland produce a genuinely fascist movement? R. M. Douglas provides some unsettling answers. Read More >>

Fota House, Co. Cork
Fota House, Co. Cork The Irish Heritage Trust, a charity created in 2006 for the care of historic houses and gardens throughout Ireland, took over the management of Fota House in December 2007. Kevin Baird describes the house and its history. Read More >>

Shorthand for Protestants: sectarian advertising in the Irish Times
Shorthand for Protestants: sectarian advertising in the Irish Times Niall Meehan casts a cold eye on the small ads of our newspaper of record in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. Read More >>