Clann na Talmhan (Sons of the Soil) For a quarter of century, in the middle of the 20th century, one political party in Ireland came to prominence. Linked to farmers and those engaged in the agricultural sector, Clann na Talmhan was an Irish agrarian political party active between 1939 and 1965. Founded in Athenry, county Galway in June 1939, months before the outbreak of the Second World War, the following news of the elec...
Harry Ferguson It is a busy time of year on our roads as farm machinery of all sizes make their way along Irish roads, lanes and fields. Farmers anxiously watch the weather as the harvest is to be saved. It is the busiest time of year for most farmers. Seeing them at their work today made me think of the county Down born engineer, Harry Ferguson and his role in revolutionising farming machinery. His October 1960 obituar...
Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa Newspapers. We have plenty of them but did you know that the Fenian, Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa whose funeral took place in Dublin on this day 110 years ago, was also an influential newspaper manager? In 1865, the newspaper The Irish People was a key publication associated with the Irish nationalist Fenian movement. It was founded in 1863 by James Stephens, and editors included John O'Le...
The Limerick Workhouse tragedy, 1850 On this day in 1838 the Irish Poor Law Act was passed by the British government thereby facilitating the construction of workhouses across Ireland. In total, some 163 would be built over the next fifteen years (130 opened before the Great Famine). Workhouses were often the place of last resort for people in desperate need and long into the 20th century there was a stigma attached to a...
Widow McCormack’s ‘Cabbage patch’ This week in 1848 the filed Young Ireland rebellion was played out in what came to be known as ‘The Widow McCormack’s cabbage patch’. Bought by the state in 1998 and known as the Ballingarry Warhouse, the site of the rebellion is an interesting place and holds great stories of the Famine era rebellion. The acquisition of the house was reported in the Kilkenny People newspaper in...
Sam Maguire Cup goes missing (three times) Its one of the most famous trophies in Irish sport and tomorrow evening (Sunday) it will be resting in the Hills of Donegal or the Kingdom of Kerry. Either Murphy or Clifford will make their mark. But did you know that this most coveted prize went missing on three occasions in nine years between 1962 and 1971. In December 1971 it was announced that the cup was missing in the ...
Robert Monteith Have you ever heard of the role of Captain Robert Monteith in the Easter Rising, accompanying Roger Casement to Kerry in a ship laden with German rifles? Or that he was a veteran of the Boer War; that he attended the first meeting of the Irish Volunteers or that he was appointed by de Valera as organiser of the American Association for Recognition of the Irish Republic (1920–22)? The Irish Press newspap...
Ballinspittle moving statue Its forty years today since the Ballinspittle moving statue in county Cork were reported. Do you remember it? Did you see them move? It occurred for the first time on 22 July 1985 when locals claimed to have witnessed the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary moving spontaneously at the Ballinspittle Grotto. The Irish Examiner broke the story on 25 July, a reporter having witnessed a large crowd gath...
Richard Lalor Sheil Born a Kilkenny man whose father made a huge fortune in Spain, while he himself died in Italy in 1851. Regarded as a great orator and a colleague of Daniel O’Connell, the name Richard Lalor Sheil was a prominent one in Irish political life in the first half of the 19th century. The Tipperary Star of June 1939 provides the following account of the colourful career to Richard Lalor Sheil: The ...
At about 5.00pm tomorrow evening we should have some idea where the Liam McCarthy Cup will be wintering and what captain will be lifting one of the most coveted trophies in Irish sport. Simply known as ‘Liam’, the Irish public have always been enthralled with this cup presented for the first time just over 100 years ago. Here the Irish Examiner in March 1984 explains the story behind the cup: THE Liam McCarthy Cup ha...