Few periods of history have produced such a wealth of remarkable stories as the heroic age of expeditions to the Antarctic about 100 years ago. Little more than two decades of exploration threw up a series of powerful dramas that encapsulated the very essence of discovery—endurance, courage and tragedy. In the thick of it all … Read more
The New York draft riots of 1863, which feature in the violent finale of Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, were the worst in American history, causing over 100 deaths and 1.5 millio n dollars’ worth of damage, about 150 million dollars in today’s money. Starting on Monday 13 July 1863 as a protest against … Read more
Ireland in the late nineteenth century was still largely rural, with gross poverty and marked social inequalities. Most women were illiterate; health was poor; infectious diseases and multiple pregnancies were common. Unemployment was high, and there was massive emigration (higher among women) to England and the Americas. English fashions and ideas percolated slowly to Ireland, … Read more
The ceramic designer Frederick Vodrey (1845–97) had a small pottery behind his warehouse in Moore Street and in 1880 opened a retail outlet in Mary Street. The shop is described in The industries of Dublin: ‘The pottery establishment of Mr Vodrey is the only representative firm in this line in Dublin that has upheld the … Read more
Last year’s Athens Olympics and Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union have naturally drawn our attention to the eastern Mediterranean. While travel to mainland Greece, Turkey and the Mediterranean islands is now commonplace, the situation was very different in the mid-eighteenth century, when one of the pioneers of modern Mediterranean travel visited the area … Read more