Today James Gandon’s neoclassical masterpiece is one of the most recognizable and well-regarded buildings in Dublin. Its completion in 1791 marked yet another instalment in the movement of the axis of the Georgian city eastwards. Yet over the ten years of its construction it was regarded as a ‘white elephant’, built in what was then … Read more
While not in the vanguard of armed activity during the War of Independence, Wexford has the distinction of being one of the few counties outside Dublin that saw action during the 1916 Rising. On the other hand it was also one of the few places where John Redmond’s (a native of the county) Irish Parliamentary … Read more
While the constitutional outcomes of the revolutionary period have evolved over time, one has remained constant over the past century—partition. While a previous Hedge School in December 2020 examined how that came about in 1920/21, this discussion will focus on its effects over the following century, up to and including the uncertainly caused by Brexit … Read more
At Crossbarry, Co. Cork, on 19 March 1921 over 100 IRA volunteers, under the command of Tom Barry, were almost surrounded by a combined force of regular British Army and Auxiliaries of at least ten times that number. What happened? What were its consequences? And what does it tell us about the conduct of the War of … Read more
Despite its apparent geographical isolation, with the Atlantic Ocean to the west and north, and the River Shannon to the south and east, County Clare has been centre stage in Irish political life, from the election of Daniel O’Connell in 1828, to the equally ground-breaking election of Eamon de Valera in 1917, and was one … Read more