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Deliberate Amnesia? The Irish Volunteers’ plan to assassinate the British...
The Imperial War Cabinet. (C.O. Wikipedia). The plan to wipe out the British government in 1918 and the subsequent attempt to forget it ever existed. By Fergus O’Farrell In the spring of 1918, it...
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Book Review: Bombs, Bullets and the Border: Policing Ireland’s Frontier,...
By Patrick Mulroe Published by Irish Academic Press, 2017. Reviewer: Gerard Madden. Since June 2016, Brexit has dominated public discourse in both Britain and Ireland, with Britain’s decision to leave...
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The Second Amendment’s Irish Link
The Signing of the United States constitution, 1787. By William E. Devlin Does the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution have an Irish connection? The answer is a qualified yes. The Second...
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Hazelwood House during the Emergency Years
Hazelwood House (pic. Wikipedia) By Terence O’Reilly “Officers and other ranks are drafted in and soon begin to take a pride in their new unit; local legends and jokes are born and flourish and a...
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Book Review: The Impact of the Troubles on the Republic of Ireland 1968-1979,...
By Brian Hanley Published by Manchester University Press, 2018 Reviewer: John Dorney All of us who grew up in the south of Ireland in the 1970s or 1980s were aware of the shadow of the ‘Troubles’ as we...
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‘To extinguish their sinister traditions and customs’ – the historic bans on...
A medieval Welsh judge. It was only in the 16th century that the Welsh language was banned from use in court. By Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc. Constitutionally both Wales and Northern Ireland are considered...
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The Killurin ambush 1922 and the Civil War in Wexford
National Army troops in Wexford. Credit: C. E. Vize collection, Ibar Carty, Enniscorthy The Killurin train ambush, July 1922 and the outbreak of civil war in County Wexford. By Aaron Ó Maonaigh The...
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Interview: Joe Connell on Michael Collins
Collins in National Army uniform. John Dorney talks to historian Joe Connell about Michael Collins. We talk about: Collins’ military and political abilities. How his charismatic personality attracted...
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‘God’s Battle’: O’Duffy’s Irish Brigade in the Spanish Civil War
The Irish Brigade in Spain, 1937 (Picture c/o History Ireland) The Irish unit that fought for Franco in 1936-37. By John Dorney In late 1936, a young unemployed Dubliner, Seamus MacKee, was told that...
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“De Valera’s other Ireland?” The Irish Free State and Scottish nationalism,...
Scottish Nationalists march. Their predecessors in the early 20th century took some inspiration from Irish cultural nationalism. By Timothy Ellis. Over the summer, as I was working in an archive, I...
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Ireland and the First World War – A Brief Overview
The victory parade for the Great War in Dublin in 1919. By John Dorney Ireland throughout the First World War of 1914-1918 was an integral part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. But...
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The Irish Girl and the American Letter: Irish immigrants in 19th Century America
Women immigrants approach New York aboard ship in 18983 (Museum of the City of New York.) By Martin Ford The written missive had remarkable significance for trans-Atlantic migration. Indeed, the...
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Interview: Farming in Irish history with Micheal O Fatharthaigh.
An eviction during the ‘Land War’ of the 1880s. John Dorney speaks with Micheal O Fatharthaigh on farming in Irish history from 1900 to 1945. We speak about: The Results of the Land Acts in which the...
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Revisiting the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement: 1968-69
The Duke Street march in Derry, October 5 1968 that was baton charged by the RUC. (Photo c/o Belfast Telegraph) By John Dorney This year, 2018, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the...
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Book Review: Wolves of Eden
By Kevin McCarthy Published by Norton Press, 2018. Reviewer: John Dorney Kevin McCarthy came to the attention of the Irish Story some years ago for for his novels, first Peeler, set in the Irish War of...
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The Strange Case of Lord Massey and the Killakee shooting, July 1922.
Killakee House, Rathfarnham. (Picture C/O wikipedia) Murder, Michael Collins and the decline and fall of South Dublin Landlord family. By John Dorney Late on Wednesday July 19, 1922, a lone man,...
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Today in Irish History, December 14, 1918 – The General Election of 1918
Eamon de Valera celebrates his election victory in East Clare. The historic victory of Sinn Fein. By John Dorney No election in Irish history has been as decisive as the British General Election of...
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‘Neither very good nor very bad’: The Dunmanway workhouse, County Cork 1841-1920
The ruins of the workhouse at Portumna, Co Galway, one of the best preserved workhouses in Ireland. By John Dorney The workhouse was the last recourse of the poor in nineteenth century Ireland. In...
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The Irish Story Top Ten articles of 2018
Our most popular articles of 2018. Thanks to all our contributors and visitors. Happy New Year! Twenty eighteen in Irish history was dominated by several important centenaries, four ground breaking...
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The Riddle of Ross Island: Ireland’s enigmatic early miners
A depiction of the bronze age mine at Ross Island. (Source here) How did a copper mine in ancient Ireland seemingly emerge out of nowhere? By Patrick Freyne. Four and a half millennia ago, Ireland...
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