By Deborah White It was an anxious wait for Mr Duigenan, Keeper of Irish Antiquities at the National Museum of Ireland. After protracted negotiation the star artefact of his upcoming ‘Special Folklore Exhibition’ was making its way to Dublin from Lurgan, Co. Armagh, strapped to the bed of a twenty-horsepower lorry. Prior arrangement with the … Read more
Ballinakill, Co. Laois By Damian Murphy The origins of Heywood Gardens date back to the late eighteenth century when Michael Frederick Trench (1746–1836), having designed and built a neo-Classical villa (1789), with a guiding hand from James Gandon (1743–1823), set about reshaping the surrounding 250-acre estate as an ideal landscape. It was achieved by digging … Read more
By Mícheál Ó Fathartaigh Over the past few months, the Irish minister for agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, has suggested on several occasions that Irish farmers could and should be growing more crops. Theoretically, he is right. Securing sustainable food supplies for the population has never been more important. Since the mid-twentieth century, Irish agriculture has gradually … Read more
By John Lonergan A soviet is an elected workers committee functioning as a political and military organisation. The Limerick Soviet was the first and only self-declared soviet in Ireland or Britain, existing from 14to 27 April 1919. It resulted from a strike declared by the Limerick United Trades and Labour Council, protesting against the proclamation … Read more
By Siobhán Doyle In 1914, a book entitled How to play Gaelic football was published and is widely regarded as the first illustrated coaching manual for Gaelic Games. Printed by Guy & Co. of Cork and retailing at one shilling, the contents include an introductory chapter, sections on the duties of the various positions on the … Read more