Monthly Archives: September 2016

Yet whatever specific grievances, real or perceived, Northern Ireland Roman Catholics held towards the Stormont administration, such grievances still served to hide the underlying reality of the problem — that the narrow gap between the Roman Catholic and Protestant working classes … Continue reading →

During the Second World War, though their country was neutral, more than 80,000 Southern Irishmen fought with great valour under the British flag. There were also 38,000 volunteers from Northern Ireland and some 4,500 were killed. Ireland also produced some … Continue reading →

The intricate web that was now Irish politics — containing within it a profusion of conflicting religious, cultural, national and class loyalties — is perhaps best explored through the life-histories of individuals, rather than within the numerous academic textbooks on … Continue reading →

A few months before the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division went ‘over the top’ at the Battle of the Somme, the Easter Rising had taken place in Dublin. While this insurrection was a failure — and resented by most … Continue reading →

The First World War presented many dilemmas to the people of the Kingdom of Ireland. While most Protestants wanted to fight for Britain, some doubted if they should be directing their energies towards European battlefields when the situation in Ireland … Continue reading →