Bulmer Hobson He played a pivitol role in the lead up to the 1916 Rising, but who was Bulmer Hobson? John Bulmer Hobson (14 January 1883 – 8 August 1969) was a leading member of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) before the Easter Rising in 1916, and is said to have sworn Padraig Pearse into membership of the IRB in late 1913. However, his role in the lead up to the Rising went much fu...
Catherine Connolly It looks almost inevitable now that Catherine Connolly will be the next President of Ireland, winning by a commanding measure although the final result at this time is not yet known. Over the coming days and weeks, we will no doubt hear much about the new occupant of the office and about her background and upbringing in Galway. A quick dive into the Irish Newspapers Archive provides insights to that inc...
Canon Sheehan In October 1913 the news of the death of Canon Sheehan in the north Cork village of Doneraile spread throughout Ireland and further afield. Sheehan was well known for his works of literature, his love of Ireland but above all his support for tenants and their rights. The Skibbereen Eagle reported his death as follows, providing a great insight into the life he led: The news of the demise of the Very Bev ...
Patrick Kavanagh Born in Inniskeen, county Monaghan, 121 years ago tomorrow (21 October), Patrick Kavanagh is, to many, one of the great Irish poets of the 20th Century. Presenting and finding things in the ordinary, in the landscape and in the world around him, Kavanagh’s poems have interested generations of Irish men and women. Perhaps you remember Kavanagh from your school days. If so, what was your favourite piece? Mi...
The archbishop and the Irish Soccer team Remembered as one of the most influential figures in 20th Century Ireland, Archbishop John McQuaid was a towering figure. 70 years ago, tomorrow (19th October) he became embroiled in a sporting controversy involving the Irish soccer team. The controversy in Irish soccer in 1955 was over a friendly match between the Republic of Ireland and Yugoslavia. Archbishop John Charles McQuaid...
Sean Treacy On this day in 1920 Tipperary’s Sean Treacy was killed in a gun battle in Talbot Street, Dublin. Treacy took part in the Soloheadbeg ambush in January 1919 which started the War of Independence and became one of the most-wanted men in Ireland. In 1970 the fiftieth anniversary of his death was commemorated in Tipperary and elsewhere and as highlighted in this article in the Irish Press, the memory of Treacy wa...
An Irish pastime Have you ever played or seen the game called ‘long bullets’ or Irish road bowling? Road bowling is an Irish sport in which competitors attempt to take the fewest throws to propel a metal ball along a predetermined course of country roads. The sport originated in Ireland and is mainly played in counties Armagh and Cork. THERE was a time, still within living memory, when a Sunday afternoon out road b...
The Nenagh Church debacle, 1849 During the Great Famine, in 1849, an incident occurred in Nenagh, county Tipperary which as the Nenagh Guardian would later call it was ‘strange and historic’. Siding with the Curate, Rev Power, the people of Nenagh decided to defy the power of the Bishop and the new appointment to the parish and took matters into their own hands. If the curate was not to be given the job, they would prev...
Sighle Bean Ui Dhonnchadha It was with great sadness that we all heard last week of the death of Manchán Magan- author, traveller, broadcaster and documentary maker whose love of the Irish language was infectious. His book ‘32 words for field’ amongst others provided a new way of looking at both the land and language. What many people might not have known was that Manchán was the grandson of Sheila Humphreys, membe...
‘The uncrowned King’ He died on this day in 1891 in Brighton, England aged just 45 years old, but Charles Stewart Parnell had by this time left a lasting legacy on Irish politics and life. Born into a 'Big House' in Avondale, Co. Wicklow, and the son of a Protestant landlord, Parnell was becoming the champion of Home Rule and Irish nationalism. First elected as a MP in 1875 representing Meath, it was through Par...