Tyrone’s complicity: no smoking gun?

In historical circles there has been disagreement over Tyrone’s role in the war prior to February 1595. There is no known document that definitively shows that he was directing the conflict in 1593 and 1594, but there is substantial circumstantial evidence. Aside from the wholesale involvement by members of his household and family, Tyrone attended … Read more

What’s in our March/April 2015 issue?

The new issue is out! 2015 falls between two centenary years, but there are some big events to be marked this year and we’re trying to do our bit: Gallipoli looms large in our current issue, but there are a few others things between its cover, including:   Brian Hanley on commemorating 1916 Fiona Fitzsimons … Read more

Their respective positions on Northern Ireland

On coming to power Thatcher knew very little about Ireland, North or South. Prior to becoming prime minister she had visited Ireland only a handful of times and had failed to strike up a relationship with the leaders in either Belfast or Dublin. In private, she had once conceded that ‘If the Irish want to … Read more

Communism in the IHA

The Irish Housewives Association had dealt with some serious political accusations in the early ’50s. Though founded as a political pressure group to represent the needs of married Irish women, on 12 April 1952 the Roscommon Herald suggested that the IHA had ‘always been used as a medium of expression by Marxists and Communists’. Though … Read more

Redmond family

John Redmond was the third Redmond to win a seat at Westminster, after his great-uncle and father, and was MP for Wexford constituencies (1881–91) and Waterford (1891–1918). Local loyalty to the former leader and his family continued to be a feature of political and even social life in Waterford after his death. Redmond’s son, Captain … Read more