Latest news with #IrishHistory
Irish Times
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Telling the Truth Is Dangerous: A history of Robert Dudley Edwards
Telling the Truth Is Dangerous: How Robert Dudley Edwards Changed Irish History Forever Author : Neasa MacErlean ISBN-13 : 978-1839529177 Publisher : Tartaruga Books Guideline Price : €17.50 In the 1986 Dáil debate that led to the establishment of the National Archives of Ireland, taoiseach Garret FitzGerald singled out University College Dublin professor emeritus Robert Dudley Edwards, who, he said, 'has never ceased to press me to have this legislation enacted'. Edwards had spent more than 50 years 'planning and fighting for' the establishment of the archives, and he died on June 5th, 1988, four days after FitzGerald's National Archives Act came into force to preserve and make publicly available millions of State documents from pre- and post-independence Ireland. 'Dudley's life mission was complete,' his granddaughter writes in this densely detailed and exhaustively sourced and annotated biography. As professor of modern Irish history at UCD from 1944 to 1979 Edwards also established the UCD Archive Department (which houses the papers of Michael Collins, Éamon de Valera, William T Cosgrave, Eoin MacNeill, Kevin Barry, pre-1922 Sinn Féin and others) and he was 'the original proposer and main mover' of the Bureau of Military History, which records the reminiscences of veterans of the 1913-1923 conflicts. He also helped establish the Irish Historical Studies journal and the Irish Historical Society, forged strong links with international historians and wrote (often anonymously or pseudonymously) for the Irish Press, Sunday Press, Sunday Independent and the Leader. READ MORE The eldest son of a Co Clare-born, London-trained nurse and an English Midlands schoolmaster turned civil servant, Edwards was six years old when his parents sheltered him in their home on Dartmouth Square in Dublin, within earshot of the British assault on the 1916 rebels in the Royal College of Surgeons on St Stephen's Green. He was aged 13 when the State records in the Four Courts burned to cinders in the assault that began the Civil War on June 30th, 1922. Teetotal in early adulthood, his later alcoholism affected his family life and public behaviour. Further family sadness and dysfunction followed with eldest daughter Mary's descent into derangement, suicide attempts, involuntary hospital admissions and near-filicidal attacks on her daughter Neasa, who refers to herself in the third person throughout. This is an essential book for anybody interested in history, historiography, or independent Ireland's first century.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to deliver annual Michael Collins address at Béal na Bláth
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will deliver the oration at Béal na Bláth later this summer to mark the 103rd anniversary of the death of Gen Michael Collins in the Civil War. The event takes place this year on Sunday August 24th. 'Minister Carroll MacNeill has a deep understanding of Irish history, and we very much look forward to hearing what she will have to say in August,' said Béal na Bláth commemoration committee chairman Senator Garret Kelleher. Ms Carroll MacNeill said it was an honour to have been asked to speak at this year's commemoration. READ MORE 'This significant event allows us to remember and honour the legacy of Michael Collins, whose vision, leadership and unwavering dedication to our country and its people continue to inspire us all,' said Ms Carroll MacNeill, the first woman to give the oration since Heather Humphreys in 2021. 'His legacy of leadership and dedication to public service is something I see as I visit our healthcare community around the country and their unwavering dedication to caring for people. I am really looking forward to speaking at the commemoration and reflecting on Collins's legacy and values.' [ Jennifer Carroll MacNeill in the spotlight as health controversies intensify Opens in new window ] Ms Carroll MacNeill said she had brought her then seven-year-old son James to the 2022 commemoration and she was looking forward to bringing him back to Béal na Bláth because of his family links to Collins. She said James's great-grandfather, Capt Hugo MacNeill, accepted the surrender of Victoria Barracks in Cork from the British on behalf of Collins and the National Army on May 18th, 1922. The barracks was subsequently renamed Collins Barracks in honour of the west Cork man. The first chief of staff of the National Army, Collins was killed in an ambush by a party of anti-Treaty IRA men at Béal na Bláth on August 22nd, 1922, as he returned with a party of National Army troops from inspecting garrisons in his native west Cork.
Irish Times
10-06-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Animal Farm – Frank McNally on how 'Skin-the-Goat' Fitzharris was radicalised by the killing of a fox
James 'Skin the Goat' Fitzharris (1833 – 1910), about whom we were talking here last week, was synonymous with an animal he supposedly turned into a rug after he caught it eating straw from his horse's collar. Less well known is how the death of another four-legged creature, back in the 1830s, may have helped send the infamous cab driver to the scene of the Phoenix Park Murders half a century later. I'm indebted for the story to reader Brian Garvey, whose wife has ancestral connections to Fitzharris's Sliabh Buidhe (aka Bhui), 'where a crow never flew over the head of an informer'. She inherited it as part of family lore. But it was written and first published in 1961 by the journalist and former Irish revolutionary, Commandant W.J. Brennan-Whitmore. READ MORE The latter was also from 'Slievebwee', as he spelt it, and his parents' house was the first that Skin-the-Goat visited on his return to Wexford circa 1899, upon release from penal servitude for his part in the 1882 conspiracy. Central to the story was James's father Andrew, an employee of a substantial farmer named Michael Sinnott, whose land was owned by the area's main landlord, the Earl of Courtown. 'One spring morning,' according to Brennan-Whitmore, 'Fitzharris was carting manure from the yard of his employer to the top of a field on Corrig Hill,' while his burdened mare 'zig-zagged' up the incline and Sinnott's large collie dog 'hunted the ditch'. When the mare stopped for a breather, as was her habit, Fitzharris paused too and lit his pipe. He and the dog then waited patiently for the mare to regather herself. Meanwhile, floating on the breeze, came the sound of the Island Fox Hunt (from Ferns), which was somewhere close by. The mare recovered, Fitzharris was about resume the climb when the unfortunate fox, fleeing one pack of hounds, hurdled the ditch and straight into the path of the collie, which promptly seized it. This was bad news for the fox, but also for Fitzharris. He was thrown into a panic, not from animal welfare concerns but because killing foxes in those days was the preserve of the gentry. A mere peasant who did it, especially mid-hunt, could be in big trouble. But despite his attempts to rescue it, the fox was soon dead. 'Terrified,' Fitzharris now looked all around him. There was no-one within sight, it seemed, so he carried the fox's carcase farther up the hill and flung it across the ditch into a dense heap of bushes and briars. When the hunt arrived and the hounds lost the scent, Fitzharris was asked which way the fox went. He pointed towards the mountain, the same Slievebwee, and the hunt rode on. The failure to pick up the scent would now be the dogs' fault, he thought. But a week later, as he was again working in the fields, his wife came running, distressed. They were being evicted, she said. Police and bailiffs had arrived and were throwing the family's belongings 'out on the roadside'. Fitzharris hurried to the scene and grabbed a fork before neighbours pacified him. Then, hearing from the sheriff that the eviction was on the earl's orders, Sinnott intervened: 'Good heavens man, you can't throw a young family out on the side of the road whose father did no wrong and who owes no rent.' Here the landlord's gamekeeper, a man named Rigley, spoke up to say that he had witnessed Fitzharris allow the collie to kill the fox. Hence the eviction, he explained. Fitzharris called him a 'damned liar,' but it was no use. The family was out, and forced to seek shelter that night in a barn owned by a relative. The vindictive landlord and his gamekeeper, however, were not having that either. Learning of the arrangement, they warned the sheltering tenant that if he did not 'put Fitzharris on the road', he would be evicted too. So next, the family sought refuge in a one-roomed hut on a property farmed by a Mr McDonald and owned by another, smaller landlord. The Earl then let it be known that he wanted Fitzharris out of there too. But the smaller landlord and the hut owner both stood up to him and the family remained. According to Brennan-Whitmore, this is where James Fitzharris and his brothers, whom he knew well, grew up: 'James turned into a sturdy stock of a man, processing a fund of humour, with a tendency to harmless devilment and an ability to make ballad poetry. While in jail, he composed a ballad to his 'Old Grey Mare'. I often heard him sing it.' Brennan-Whitmore had enlisted in the Royal Irish Regiment as a teenager, spending five years in India. The experience seems to have radicalised him. He left the British army in 1907 and became an ardent republican who fought in 1916 and later served in the Free State Army before retiring to be a writer. His 1961 account for the Evening Herald, was headlined: 'The authentic story of James Fitzharris, alias 'Skin-the-Goat''. The subhead read: 'His first taste of landlord tyranny as an infant.' As the author told it, the accidental killing of a fox and its consequences may have helped propel Fitzharris to the Phoenix Park one fateful afternoon in 1882.
Irish Times
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
From that Small Island review: Colin Farrell sounds in pain, as if he pressed on despite urgently needing the loo
It has become fashionable to portray Irish history as one calamity after another: invasion, famine, The 2 Johnnies . Will the horrors never end? But From that Small Island – The Story of the Irish, RTÉ's ponderous portrait of the country from the Stone Age to the present, goes out of its way to avoid such cliches and to show us the bigger picture. The Horrible Histories version of Ireland, whereby everything was great until the Brits showed up, is carefully avoided. Lots of fascinating facts are crammed into the first of four episodes (RTÉ One, 6.30pm). We learn that the original inhabitants of Ireland were dark-skinned and blue-eyed. It is also revealed that the Battle of Clontarf was not the native Irish against the Vikings so much as the native Irish against Dublin and their Viking allies. It was the medieval equivalent of a Leinster final, with the Dubs going down to a last-minute free. But if sprinkled with intriguing nuggets, much about the series is familiar, if not formulaic. Following on from 1916: The Irish Rebellion and 2019's The Irish Revolution, it is the latest RTÉ historical epic to rely on moody drone shots of the Irish landscape, an infinite staircase worth of academics and gravel-voiced narration by an Irish actor. [ 'We Irish were never homogeneous. Always hybrids, always mongrels' Opens in new window ] This gig has previously gone to Liam Neeson , who narrated The Irish Rebellion, and Cillian Murphy , who provided voiceover on The Irish Revolution . Now it's Colin Farrell who goes from playing Penguin to talking about pagan practices in Portumna. But while he does his best to breathe life into an episode that traces the arrival of the first farmers in Ireland and the later coming of the Vikings, he sounds ever so slightly in pain throughout, as if he had decided to press on when he urgently needed the loo. READ MORE From that Small Island has a thesis: that Ireland has always been a globalised nation – neither a destination nor a leaving point, but an international crossroads. In Italy , former president Mary McAleese discusses the influence on the Continent of medieval Ireland's great wandering monk, St Columbanus. She adds that his teachings were key to the founding of the European Union – although she does not fully explain this claim, leaving it to dangle in the dry Italian wind. But grand ambitions run aground on dull execution. As with the Liam Neeson 1916 documentary – which this series shares a writer with, University of Notre Dame's Bríona Nic Dhiarmad – there is a feeling of observing a dry academic exercise made with one eye on overseas audiences rather than something intended to bring history alive for Irish viewers. Tellingly, this voice-of-god style of storytelling has fallen out of favour elsewhere. On British TV, for instance, historians are forever getting their hands dirty and making history come alive by staring it straight in the face. That isn't to suggest Farrell should do a Lucy Worsley and dress up as Brian Boru. But wouldn't From that Small Island be so much more fun if he did? And that, in the end, is what is missing. Irish history is tumultuous, tragic, funny and bittersweet – but this worthy-to-a-fault series removes all the blood, sweat and tears. It belongs firmly in the 'eat your greens' school of documentary-making – and cries out for more spice and sizzle.
Irish Times
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
TV guide: Love Island, Not Going Out and the other best things to watch this week
Pick of the Week From that Small Island – the Story of the Irish Sunday, RTÉ One, 6.30pm For such a small island , we've got world-class levels of modesty. I mean, you never hear us boasting about the disproportionate number of bestselling authors, Oscar -nominated actors or stadium-filling pop stars we produce, or how many times we've won Eurovision . So let's give ourselves a big pat on the back for not having big heads like a Macnas parade. This four-part series, written and produced by Bríona Nic Dhiarmada, asks who are these mysterious, super-talented and not-at-all vainglorious people from that tiny island on the western end of Europe, where did they come from, and how did they go from a population of six million to a global community of 80 million who claim to be Irish? Mary McAleese in episode one of From that Small Island – the Story of the Irish It also asks deeper questions about what it means to be Irish today, and how has our history and geography shaped our endearingly self-effacing personalities and fuelled our huge impact on the world at large. Colin Farrell is our narrator and guide on this magical history tour – did we mention he was nominated for an Oscar? Highlights The Gold Sunday, BBC One, 9pm The Gold: Hugh Bonneville as DCS Brian Boyce. Photograph: BBC/Tannadice Pictures In November 1983, armed robbers broke into a warehouse near Heathrow airport and made off with £26 million in gold bullion, along with a stash of diamonds and a good few bob in cash. The Brink's-Mat robbery became the biggest and most notorious robbery in the UK, putting the Great Train Robbery in the ha'penny place. The first series of The Gold dramatised the story of this daring heist and its aftermath, and followed the efforts of DCS Brian Boyce (Hugh Bonneville) and his taskforce to track the gang down before they can launder their haul. It ended with some of the gang members, including Kenneth Noye (Jack Lowden), getting banged up good and proper, but we're not done and dusted yet. READ MORE Turns out that only half the gold has been accounted for, and in this second series, Boyce and his team will have to use all their policing nous to uncover what happened to the rest of the gold, somehow get it back, and track down the rest of the gang and bring them in front of the Old Bill. Charlotte Spencer, Emun Elliott, Stepfanie Martini and Peter Davison are among the returning cast, with new additions including Tom Hughes, Stephen Campbell Moore, Joshua MGuire and Tamsin Topolski. An Ghig Mhór Monday, RTÉ One, 8pm An Gig Mhór: John Spillane, who mentors Kilkenny band The Donnys in episode one. Photograph: Clare Keogh In every town in Ireland, there's a potential U2, Cranberries or Hozier hoping to break out of the bedroom or garage and step into the big time. All they need is someone to help them get a gig so they can showcase their talent to the masses. In this new series, well-known Irish musical artists are recruited as mentors to young, up-and-coming acts. Their job is to help them organise a live gig in their hometown so they can take those vital first steps to international fame. Each young act has their own individual sound, but all have one thing in common: they perform both in English and as Gaeilge. These bilingual, multitalented youngsters include singer-songwriter Hannah B from Gaoth Dobhar, Na hEasógaí from Conamara, and punk rockers Hex from Leixlip. First up are Kilkenny band The Donnys, who may be millennials, but are in thrall to classic 60s and 70s rock. Singer-songwriter John Spillane is drafted in to guide them through the process of putting on a live show. Other mentors through the series include Kila's Rónán Ó Snodaigh, hip-hop duo Tebi Rex and singer-songwriter Síomha. Shardlake Monday, UTV, 9pm Shardlake: Sean Bean as Oliver Cromwell. Photograph: Disney If you subscribe to Disney+, you may have already watched this four-part murder mystery based on the historical whodunits by CJ Sansom. Matthew Shardlake (Arthur Hughes) is a lawyer in 16th-century England tasked with solving a brutal murder in a monastery (I'd say most murders in those days were pretty brutal). His boss is none other than Oliver Cromwell (Sean Bean), whose own boss is King Henry VIII, the Tudor Trump on a crusade to force the Catholic Church to submit to his sweeping reforms. In the tradition of telly detectives, Shardlake needs an assistant, and cocky youngster Jack Barak (Anthony Boyle) is sent along on the investigation – although he could well be a spy sent by Cromwell. Despite the huge fan base out there for Sansom's novels, and the positive reviews for the series (cliched but fun seems to be the verdict), Disney is not renewing the series, but maybe ITV are testing the terrestrial TV waters to see if it's worth making a second one. Love Island Monday, ITV2, 9pm The evenings are getting longer, the kids are starting their school holidays, and there's nothing on the telly. Except Love Island, of course. It's time to spend another hot, steamy summer in the Love Island villa, and this year ITV has searched high and low to find another bunch of good-looking, vain, pouting, pec-flexing young things who are happy to parade around on telly in their swimwear and undies and wear the face off their housemates (I know – it's a big ask). This will blow your tiny little mind: Love Island is officially 10 years old this year, and the new series promises to raise the stakes to mark the decade anniversary. Maya Jama is back to present the show, sort of like the David Attenborough of dating shows, and among the rumoured Love Islanders is 'jaw-droppingly gorgeous' Manchester model Shakira Khan. Hell for Leather: The Story of Gaelic Football Monday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm Hell for Leather: The Story of Gaelic Football. Photograph: RTÉ For such a small nation, we've got a big grá for the Gaelic football, and sure why wouldn't we? It's woven into the fabric of our lives, and plays a huge role in our sporting, cultural and social history. This five-part series promises to be the definitive history of Gaelic football, filmed in cinematic 4K, and featuring more than 80 interviews with sporting legends, players, managers, commentators and historians, including the last-ever TV interviews with legendary commentator Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Kerry's Seán Murphy and Mick O'Dwyer, Dublin's Jimmy Gray and Mayo's John O'Mahony. The series will trace the origins of Gaelic football, how it grew out of the struggle for independence to become an indigenous alternative to foreign games, a sport that Irish people could rally round and identify with as their very own. It tracks the growth of the game over the past 100 years, as it became integral to every town and village, and took a foothold in Northern Ireland, making it an island-wide sport. The series, filmed by Crossing the Line Productions in partnership with Coimisiún na Meán, has been five years in the making, and among the contributors are – deep breath – Michael Murphy, David Clifford, Jack McCaffery, Juliet Murphy, Shane Walsh, Brian Fenton, Mick O'Connell, Cora Staunton and Joe Brolly, along with input from managers Jim McGuinness, Padraic Joyce, Seán Boylan and Kevin McStay. Uncharted with Ray Goggins Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm Ex-special forces soldier Ray Goggins has taken several celebs to the edge of their endurance, dragging them up mountains, down valleys and along glaciers in some of the most extreme environments on earth. Former taoiseach Leo Varadkar, singer Lyra, hip-hop trio Kneecap, Paralympic gold medallist Ellen Keane and camogie star Ashling Thompson have already survived their outdoor challenges, and in this final episode, champion Galway hurler Joe Canning and track and field star Thomas Barr will head deep into the jungles of Colombia, where they'll take a perilous river journey, navigating lethal, class-five rapids and dodging deadly snakes and venomous spiders along the way. Not Going Out Friday, BBC One, 9pm Not Going Out: Sally Bretton and Lee Mack. Photograph: BBC/Avalon/Mark Johnson The long-running sitcom starring Lee Mack will be celebrating its 20th anniversary next year with a new batch of episodes – not bad for a show about a guy who is completely unmotivated and generally reluctant to leave the house. Meanwhile, series 14 brings us a Dr Who-ish time jump, as we fast-forward a few years and Lee and Lucy (Sally Bretton) find themselves in an empty nest and with all the time in the world to get to know each other again (good luck with that). The couple decide to move house, and are viewing their dream home when Lee puts the deal in jeopardy by asking the vendor if he can use the loo. Streaming Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy From Tuesday, June 10th, Netflix Astroworld was the popular annual festival run by rapper Travis Scott to celebrate the vibrant hip-hop scene in his hometown of Houston, Texas, and give something back to the fans who supported him on his rise to superstardom. But during the third Astroworld festival, in Houston's NRG Park on November 5th, 2021, the celebration turned to tragedy when the stoked-up crowd surged forward as Scott came on stage, with the ensuing crush resulting in the deaths of 10 fans. This documentary, the first in a new anthology series of the Trainwreck strand, explores how the festival descended into chaos as organisers lost control of the enthusiastic crowd, and tells the story of the unfolding catastrophe from the perspective of survivors and other witnesses. Although no blame is attributed, a picture soon emerges of an entirely preventable tragedy. Fubar From Thursday, June 12th, Netflix Fubar: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Monica Barbaro. Photograph: Netflix When it was announced that Arnold Schwarzenegger would be returning for a second series of this comedy spy show, the 'I'll be back' quips came thick and fast. In his first foray into TV territory, Arnie plays CIA agent Luke Brunner, who has had to defer his retirement for one last espionage job. Now it looks as if the gold-watch ceremony will have to wait a bit longer, as in series two he faces a deadly foe in the form of an old flame, the German spy Greta Nelso, played with suitably over-the-top gusto by Carrie-Anne Moss. In series one Luke was pulled back out of retirement to rescue a fellow CIA operative – who turned out to be his daughter, Emma (Monica Barbaro). The cast members have all talked about how much fun they had making this series – let's hope it's just as much fun for us to watch.
