Irish History, Records, and Myths

News

8th-century holy well and ancient farmhouse at center of Tipperary motorway row

The proposed upgrade of Tipp road includes one that has sparked controversy in the town of Cahir because it endangers a local holy well.

History

Churchill wanted Irish bombed from the air, refused Michael Collins' plea

Ireland began its fatal slide into civil war aided and abetted by the Secretary of State for War and Air.

Niall O'Dowd

John Hume's role in the Irish Peace Process should never be forgotten

John Hume was almost the forgotten man on one of the biggest days in Irish history, recalls Niall O'Dowd.

History

Danny Boy: The history behind Ireland's most famous ballad

"Danny Boy," perhaps Ireland's most famous ballad, has a long history. Irish American author Malachy McCourt unravels the mysteries surrounding the tune.

History

On This Day: Last of the Easter Rising rebels was executed in Britain

Sir Roger Casement was executed at Pentonville Prison in London on August 3, 1916.

History

Irish Government digitizes O'Donovan Rossa's 19th-century Fenian newspaper

Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa published the United Irishman while he was exiled in New York in the late 19th century, using the paper to promote the cause of Irish national liberation from British rule.

History

Wicklow's Military Road, built to capture a rebel captain

"History and folklore often become intertwined... around the escapades of Michael Dwyer and his remarkable capacity to evade capture."

History

WATCH: Rare footage of Pádraig Pearse at Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa's funeral

Irish Fenian leader and prominent member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa died in the US on June 29, 1915.

Cahir O'Doherty

Heroes of Ireland's Great Hunger celebrates men and women who risked it all

Maginn stood up for the rights of poor Catholics and that is why his legacy matters, Turlough McConnell writes.

History

Workhouse records reveal rural Ireland’s harsh past

On July 31, 1838, the Poor Law was introduced to Ireland. The hardship of the souls who sought salvation from disease and starvation are graphically illustrated through the records of the time.

Culture

How Jack B Yeats' “Liffey Swim” won an Olympic medal in 1924

Jack B Yeats' painting won a silver medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. He holds the honor of being Ireland's first medalist at the Olympic Games.

History

1863 - Birth of Irish American Henry Ford, maker of the Model T

Henry Ford, the maker of the Model T and the man behind the development of the assembly line technique of mass production, had strong Irish links.

History

The first assassination carried out by Michael Collins's 'Squad'

On July 30, 1919, four men - known as Michael Collins's 'Squad' - carried out the assassination of Detective Patrick 'The Dog' Smith in Dublin.

History

WATCH: Saints and science merge in Ireland's airline Aer Lingus

The 1962 Irish documentary 'Blessing the Aer Lingus Fleet' looks at the Irish airline's unique blending of Catholicism and technology.

History

Little known tale of generous Turkish aid to the Irish during the Great Hunger

The film “Famine” portrays the story of how the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire sent aid to the Irish during the Great Hunger.

History

Jackie Kennedy's Doctor Feelgood shot her up before she met Queen

Were the shocking scenes in The Crown's season two of JFK and Jackie's antics while visiting the Queen true?

Northern Ireland

Former RUC chief believed united Ireland was "inevitable", new book reveals

British diplomat David Goodall's posthumous memoir details a meeting with RUC Chief Constable Sir Jack Hermon where they discussed a united Ireland.

History

The secret, tragic fate of Oscar Wilde’s sisters

Hidden away from their family for the crime of illegitimacy, they died agonizingly slow deaths.

News

Who is Ian Bailey, suspect in the Sophie du Plantier murder?

Ian Bailey was the prime suspect in the murder case of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in West Cork in 1996, but who is he and what is he doing now?

History

Belfast poet Louis MacNeice's Irish heritage was close to his heart

"I was born in Belfast between the mountain and the gantries, To the hooting of lost sirens and the clang of trams: Thence to Smoky Carrick in County Antrim."

History

How WB Yeats' connection to Sligo stretches back through generations

An extract from the new book "Arise And Go: W.B. Yeats and the People and Places That Inspired Him" by Kevin Connolly.

Top Destinations

Sights and sounds along the prehistoric Shannon River Road

The River Shannon is the country's supreme waterway, known and traveled for thousands of years linked to every stage of Ireland’s history and development.

History