Kilcorban (also rendered Kyllcarbayn, Kilcarbain or Kilcorbain) was named after an early medieval saint, Corban or Corbran of Cluana, who died in AD 732. Little is known of the saint and, while there is no physical or documentary evidence for a monastery in this period other than the toponym Kilcorban, a local tradition suggests that … Read more
Inspector Mallon and the Phoenix Park Murders Sir,—The likely involvement of Inspector Mallon in the flight of the Land Leaguer Patrick Egan following the Phoenix Park Murders, as mentioned in Felix Larkin’s article on Lord Frederick Cavendish (HI 22.3, May/June), was indeed typical of the so-called great detective. Police files from before and after the … Read more
Roger Casement Sir,—Martin Mansergh, in his review (May–June 2014) of Angus Mitchell’s biography 16 Lives—Roger Casement, makes great play of the only reported denial by Casement of the Black Diaries: ‘A US attorney visiting Casement in Pentonville with Gavan Duffy made him aware of what was going on and recorded Casement’s indignant disbelief of the … Read more
Thomas Willis was a Dublin apothecary who was involved in various charitable activities throughout his life, such as the foundation of the Society of St Vincent de Paul in Ireland. He was based in St Michan’s parish, just behind Ormond Quay and in 1845 he published a survey of the parish that examined it it … Read more
The weapons were imported after the arming of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), which, with the open support of the opposition Conservative Party, was established to prepare for civil war rather than accept all-Ireland Home Rule as set out in the bill of 1912. Home Rule had been introduced to allow the Liberal Party to … Read more