The burning of Cork, December 1920: the fire service response

THE SINGLE GREATEST ACT OF VANDALISM OF THE IRISH WAR OF INDEPENDENCE By Pat Poland On 21 January 1919 the first Dáil was convened in the Mansion House in Dublin […]

Seán O’Casey’s ‘battle of words’ with the Volunteers

Seán O’Casey was secretary of the Irish Citizen Army and wrote ‘ICA Notes’ in The Worker and the Irish Worker. While James Connolly attacked the British, O’Casey attacked the Volunteers […]

31 July—6 August: That was the week that was; a round-up

It’s been a busy week in history-land. Beginning with last weeks unveiling of the CWGC Cross of Sacrifice in Glasnevin Cemetery, we’ve had a raft of official commemorations of the […]

23 July 2014: Gun-running centenaries and all that

The centenary anniversary of the Howth gun-running falls this coming weekend. It is being marked by an official ceremony, and the weekend will also witness a commemoration of the related […]

‘Murderous renegade’ or agent of the Crown? The riddle of Erskine Childers

Robert Erskine Childers wrote these words in the darkness of his damp prison cell less than an hour before his execution for unlawfully possessing a firearm (ironically given to him […]