How the Bog Bodies told their story In March 2003, in a bog on the border of Meath and Offaly, in a place called Clonycavan, a body emerged from the peat beneath the shovel of a cutting machine. The workers stopped their machinery immediately and after inspecting the body suspected they had unearthed evidence of […]
The infamous and notorious Black and Tans will not be forgotten in Irish history. 100 years ago, the first tranche of them arrived from Britain, mainly recruited from the unemployed veterans of World War 1. They had 3 months training and their pay was ten shillings a day. Their ‘uniforms’ were mixed, some with Khaki […]
The historical importance of Moore Street in the birth of the Republic has been highlighted in the Dáil by Aontú leader, Peadar Tóibín, who said that the area which was central to the Rising has been turned into an “outdoor toilet” by Government inaction. “Moore St is the birthplace of the Irish Republic. The lanes […]
“Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s day the first day of the session The landlord’s marshal has decreed the rope will finish me” It may have romantic connotations of a rapier wielding highwayman, but the term “Raparee” is actually an Anglicisation of the Irish word Rópaire, and it refers to the end that usually awaited […]
Britain’s Salt Act of 1882 prohibited Indians from collecting or selling salt, a staple in their diet. Indian citizens were forced to buy the vital mineral from their British rulers, who, in addition to exercising a monopoly over the manufacture and sale of salt, also charged a heavy salt tax. Though it affected everyone, it […]
Pádraig Ó Siochfhradha was born near Dingle, Co. Kerry in 1883, one of nine children to Patrick Sugrue and Ellen Cleary. He attended the local CBS until he was 16 where he was educated under English, and learned to read and write Irish from a local school master with the assistance of the Irish grammer […]
ON THIS DAY: 4TH MARCH is shared by 3 famous people connected with Irish freedom, whose birthdays occurred on this day. Robert Emmet – 1778 was an Irish Republican and nationalist, patriot, orator and rebel leader. After leading an abortive rebellion against British rule in 1803 he was captured then tried and executed for high treason […]
Tithe Wars nó as Gaeilge Cogadh na nDeachúna. People were obliged by law to pay Tithes for the upkeep of the Church of Ireland, which was the official state sanctioned Church. What was ‘owed’ could be taken in the form of money, land, rent, produce or livestock. Struggling farmers did not want to be forced […]
Following on from our post a few days back which discussed the vicious Shankill butchers (a loyalist gang connected with the UVF); a Catholic civilian Francis Rice, (24), was abducted, beaten, tortured and had his throat cut almost through to the spine. His torture and death was described as grotesque and obscene. His body was […]
The Shankill Butchers were a group of 11 loyalists, many of whom were members of the Ulster Volunteer Force, which operated out of drinking dens in the Shankill Road area of Belfast hence the name. They abducted Catholics; tortured, maimed and mutilated their bodies before eventually killing them with butchers knives, axes and hatchets. Their […]
If this works out, then I’m looking forward to sending a personal bill to London for my share of the reparations owed for the famine, and other offences caused over the past 800 odd years. A west brit I may be, but I have my eye on getting a PlayStation five, and if reparations are […]
The Statute of Kilkenny were a set of laws made by the English Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lionel of Antwerp. They were passed at a meeting of the Irish parliament held at Kilkenny. It was to ensure that the English colonisers here did not adopt Irish customs and that the Irish must adopt English ones. […]