Last weekend I went to Galway with the intention of visiting Galway’s medieval sites and writing up something about it. Galway and the west of Ireland lived up to its reputation: it has loads of really amazing historical sites but it also rains a phenomenal amount aswell. Given I was naively optimistic, without a rain… Read more »
We are used to watching news in real time through television and social media. It was in the 19th century that the antecedent of the modern news industry emerged through newspapers and magazines. Although photographs were around since the Crimean War in 1850’s the hand drawn sketch dominated the print media. The last post I… Read more »
Imagine how our understanding of the Norman invasion of Ireland might change if we had footage of Strongbow entering Dublin in 1170 or what we might think of Brian Boru if we had footage of his burial at Armagh in 1014. These comparisons highlight the role that film footage will play as we construct the… Read more »
Have you ever wondered what people did before modern fridges? Obviously the vast majority did without, but for those who could afford one, ice houses were as good as it got up until the mid 19th century. Ice houses were a primitive if lavish form of fridge and gave those who could afford them the… Read more »
In the film adaptation of “The Field”, the parish priest proclaims Christianity to be a “thin veneer” over Irish people, in a derogatory reference both the people and pre-Christian Paganism alike. This idea of Christianity being a thin veneer runs contrary to the notion of medieval Ireland being an “island of saints and scholars” but… Read more »
Paganism, christianity, conversion, kingship, lug, pagan, Pagan ritual, St Brigid, tailtiu
Grangegorman military cemetery is almost completely unknown in Dublin. Situated close to McKee Barracks on Blackhorse Avenue, its anonymity is more to do with those buried there than its location. The issue of Irishmen serving in the British Army has been highly controversial since 1916. This cemetery was forgotten after independence in a country forged… Read more »
In the 19th century Broadstone was one of the most well known areas of Dublin, however very few people even know where it is today. From 1817 this area was home to one of the major transport hubs in 19th century Dublin, containing a major railway station and a canal harbour. This area rose and… Read more »
Phibsboro, Blacqueire Bridge, Broadstone, Canals, Fosters Aqueduct, Midlands and Great Western
As the 18th century drew to a close the catholic church in Ireland was optimistic about its future. It had survived a century of repression emerging relatively intact and as the century drew to a close full catholic emancipation was on the horizon. Through the following century the Catholic Church in Ireland enjoyed a meteoric… Read more »
5.The Time in the Slime (the river Liffey) Back in the late 1990’s when Ireland’s economy started to grow for the first time in centuries the government, instead of building schools and hospitals, decided Dublin needed a clock in the river Liffey that counted down to the millennium. Officially called “The Millennium Clock”, it was… Read more »
Arthur Griffith, Lord Nelson, Michael Collins, millenium Clock, Nelsons Pillar, Sean Russell, Time in the Slime, William Of Orange
Kilkenny more than any other Irish city has a distinctively medieval feel about it. Its small streets wind around several medieval buildings whilst its skyline is still dominated by a 13th century castle and cathedral. Through some of these buildings we can reconstruct the major events of the city’s past from witch trials to the… Read more »
Kilkenny castle, Black Abbey, Friar john Clyn, Kilkenny, Kyteler, Maudlin castle, maudlin st, St Canices cathedral, St Francis Abbey
So we’ve got to episode 5 (no.6 is in production), I hope you’ve enjoyed it so far. While the show is free to download unfortunately it is not free to produce and to carry out the plan for this year I need your help! Plans This year I hope to speed up production and release… Read more »
I was researching the Great Irish Famine (1845-51) when I came across this bleak report written in Clifden workhouse on Christmas day 1847. The situation in Ireland was desperate by 1847 when famine related diseases started to ravage an already weakened population. The workhouse was what the 19th century offered up as state welfare. Orphans,… Read more »
A world without Christmas may seem inconceivable, however Christmas wasn’t always the festive public holiday it is today. Its popularity has wax and waned over the centuries being celebrated to varying degrees in different places and periods. In England in the late medieval era it was first officially declared a public holiday by royal decree… Read more »
Irish history, christmas, cromwell grinch, new england, pilgram fathers, puritans
US Presidents have a long tradition of forging links with Ireland. In the last six decades numerous presidents have played up their Irish ancestory with many visiting Ireland in an effort to appeal to the Irish American electorate. Perhaps the strangest link though has to be that of President John Quincy Adams. He never visited… Read more »
In 1961 the Evening Standard Newspaper celebrated its centential with a special supplement looking at Dublin over the previous hundred years (1861 – 1961). This supplment contained these fascinating early photos of Dublin before and after Independence in 1921. The change in Dublin’s streetscape is dramatic, illustrating what the city was like when it had… Read more »
Last week the depositions collected in the aftermath of the 1641 rebellion were published online. The depositions, which are free to access, amount to what were witness statements of survivors, collected by government officials. These are an incredible insight into Ireland in the 17th century and how people at the time perceived what was happening… Read more »
1641 rebellion, O Siochru, 1641 depositions, Ulster plantation
Winners & Losers – How the Great Hunger Ended
Was the Great Famine a genocide?
Landlords & Mass Evictions – Exploiting the Great Hunger