Bodin, Hobbes, Hegel, Weber, Troeltsch and Von Gierke were the political philosophers whom the late Professor James Hogan used lecture us on as his students in University College Cork in the late 1950s. These days it would be unusual for a professor of history to put political theory at the centre of his teaching. But … Read more
It all began in the classroom in Wilson’s Hospital school. Why, my Leaving Certificate history pupils wanted to know, did so many Irishmen enlist for the Great War. I endeavoured to explain. The class remained unconvinced. The formal reasons lacked a vital ingredient, human interest. We walked across to the chapel and studied the Roll … Read more
Under the terms of his will, the late Professor Francis J. Crowley,California, USA, who was of Irish descent, made a bequest to the Irishstate in which he provided that funds from his estate should be used inthe acquisition and conservation of the records of the history of theIrish people. With the financial resources made available … Read more
Addressing the Dáil on 27 October 1919, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Count George Plunkett, reported ‘a steady progress’ in the development of Ireland’s foreign relations ‘in spite of all impediments’. These impediments were many and they hampered all Dáil Éireann agents abroad. On his first visit to the United States as the President of … Read more
Though he was one of the towering figures of eighteenth-century Irish Patriotism, Henry Flood is little remembered today. Unlike Henry Grattan, with whom he is frequently twinned in historical memory, popular valorisation was not to be his destiny. Thus, there are no statues in his honour; no pubs which bear his name and, most significantly, … Read more