by Dr. Christine Kinealy

While Dublin was less affected by the famine than almost any other region or county in Ireland, this…

Check out our past quizzes here.

In 1587, the English inside the Pale (a fortified district around Dublin) were concerned about the Irish whom they had not yet brought under their control – especially in Ulster. The Ulster clans were an independent lot, and something had to be done to insure their non-interference…

Christmas Eve was always’s a hive of activity as it dawned  with crispy white show on the trees and on the hills surrounding Wolf Tone . Granny O’Rourke was always up early on Christmas Eve as there was always a lot to do. The fire grate would have to be cleaned out and the fire…

Yes, believe it or not, I saw the oldest surviving manuscript in Ireland. It’s called the Cathach (meaning the Battle Book) and it was used by the O’Donnell Clan as a protection or talisman when going into battle.

Because of its fragile state, it is rarely shown…

Book Review

"Against the Wind", by J.A. O'Brien

 Reviewer: Michael Halpenny

The full title of this book is "Against the Wind: Memoir of a Dissident Dubliner." However, this is not the diary of someone strenuously opposed to the Good Friday Agreement,…

To lovers of history, Ireland is a land of castles and battlefields, and there are many of both in the Emerald Isle, given its contentious past. The Clontarf Castle Hotel brings the history-minded both, given its location in a renovated castle, close by the site of the important…

Book Review

"The Decline and Fall of the Dukes of Leinster, 1872–1948"

by Terrence Dooley…

Ireland’s history, like that of most countries, is a mixture of history, legend, myth, ballad, and story.  Although part of my family came from County Tyrone in the years before the Famine, any stories from the family might have brought over seem to have slipped away over the…

The murder had made a big stir from the start, despite the  mayhem in Dublin a few years earlier. The police photo in situ shows a large crowd gathering to stare, and according to reporters they flocked to see the body in the back shed of Lamb Doyle’s public house outside…

As requested, here an account of the life of Anne Devlin, assistant to Robert Emmet.

In the church of St. Nicholas of…

This is one of the photographs taken of 'Honor Bright' by Garda Sgt Andrew Gordon on the morning of 9th June 1925. The photos were not used in court. In fact the court allowed no evidence about her at all apart from her name, address, age and her location on that night of 8th of June, the hottest night of the year, in relation to the location of the two accused murderers. Her words, emotions and actions or any closer description of her were objected to by the counsel of Leopold Dillon, who…

On Friday September 20th, 1803, Robert Emmet was hanged and beheaded by Executioner Thomas Galvin in Thomas Street, in front of St. Catherine’s Church, before a crowd of up to 45,000 people.

Each year the Emmet and Devlin Memorial…

Every year, on the Sunday closest to her anniversary, I organise a commemoration of Ireland's greatest women - Anne Devlin. I have been dong this for the last nine years now, and each year the format is the same: Midday mass in St. Catherine's Church on Meath Street in Dublin's…

Hello Wild Geese!

I've decided to write this blog to get congratulations - yes, for me - for not only finishing writing my book, but also this week publishing a readable copy of it. I actually published it in August but the print was so small only leprechauns could read it. Now I've improved it and it looks quite nice - just have a look and see on www.HuesBooks.com.

Finishing my project is quite a surprise. Now another has turned up. I…

Book Review

"The Decline and Fall of the Dukes of Leinster, 1872–1948

by Terrence Dooley

304 pages with colour…

Dear Friend,

The Dublin Dock Workers Preservation Society are a docklands-based history group who believe in digging where we stand. We believe that the history of Dublin Docks and the surrounding communities of East Wall, North Wall, City Quay, Pearse Street and Ringsend are so rich that the stories should be collected and preserved. We also believe in…

On September 25, 1916, William Butler Yeats penned the words “a terrible beauty is born” as he wrote about the Easter Rising. …

Up and Coming: We're delighted to put the spotlight on a growing number of intriguing events in metro New York in September. Here's a sketch of each along with links for more information: 

(BTW, don't hesitate to reach out to fellow WG in…