‘Honest’ Tom Steele The Repeal movement of the 1840s featured a number of prominent men, including amongst them man that was known as ‘Honest’ Tom. A landowner and a Protestant, Steele was devoted to both Catholic Emancipation and Repeal and remained a firm supporter of Daniel O’Connell until his death in 1848. The redoubtable ‘SJL’ of the Irish Press newspaper provides this account from 1972 of ‘ho...
Storm Eoywn is on its way. As we head to sleep on the 23rd of January, no one knows what we will be faced with when we wake in the morning. A ‘Red warning’ is in place for the entire country – schools are closed, public transport is not running and people are being asked to stay indoors. In 1987 the Irish Independent reported on the history of major weather phenomenon which had been recorded by scientists and mete...
‘Wrong Way’ Corrigan What’s the most bizarre story in Irish history that you have ever read? How about this one, the story of the man who was dubbed ‘Wrong Way’ Corrigan. In 1988 Corrigan returned to Ireland, fifty years after his first famous visit. This time he was an invited guest of the nation. The Irish Independent reports: THE first time he arrived he had no official papers, but when he steps off a...
Soloheadbeg and the start of the War of Independence Yesterday marked the 106th anniversary of the start of the Irish War of Independence when members of the Dail met for the first time in the Mansion House. At the same time the war began in county Tipperary when members of the IRA led by Dan Breen attacked an RIC patrol at Soloheadbeg. The Irish Press in 1969 provided an account of the ambush to readers: In the t...
Inauguration of President O'Ceallaigh, 1952 Today marks the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States of America, Donald Trump. Millions watched across the world to see Trump take office for the second and in doing so promising to bring a number of changes to the USA. Todays post looks back the inauguration of President Sean T O’Ceallaigh in Ireland in 1952, being his second term in office. The ev...
What’s in a name? In the early 1930s, a decade after the War of Independence, there was considerable debate across the country about associations which reflected Britian or the empire. These included street names, statues etc but they also included place names. In 1935 in county Longford there was much debate about the naming of the village of Edgeworthstown or Mostrim. Here the Evening Herald explains: Longford C...
Michael Mallin and the 1916 Rising How much do you know about Michael Mallin, one of the executed leaders of the 1916 rising? A ‘drummer boy’ who served in the British army in India, Mallin was a keen supporter of the Gaelic League and it was this involvement which drew him into the circle of many of those he would go into battle alongside in 1916. Here the Irish Press of 1961 reports on Mallin’s story: Mich...
William Bulfin: Rambles in Eirinn In the late 19th century there was a thriving Irish community in Argentina. Made up mainly of descendants of emigrants from Longford and Westmeath who had left Ireland in the wake of the Famine, others had gone in the 1880s when the country seemed a prosperous destination. Among them was an Offaly man – William Bulfin from Derrinlough near Birr. He would quickly become one of the most inf...
Ireland covered in snow - 1982 Looking back through the Irish Newspaper Archive and times of extreme cold and snow, the prolonged Big Freeze of 1982 On this week in 1982 newspapers reported that conditions right across the country were terrible and that in many parts villages had been cut off from supplies and relief such as the extent of the snow. Here the Evening Press reports: MANY villages in Counties Wicklow a...
The Irish Independent is 120 years old Today marks the 120th anniversary of the Irish Independent which appeared for the first time on 2 January 1905. Carrying the ideals of this new venture, the paper also included items of news from Dublin during the New Year festivities. The advent of the New Year in Dublin was signalised by the usual private festivities. The brilliant windows of many a home, and the sounds o...