History Ireland

History Ireland History Ireland magazine has now been in production for just over 20 years.

Since 2004 it has been going from strength to strength, with a changeover to a full-colour format, a layout revamp and a move to bi-monthly publication in 2005. Each issue of History Ireland covers a wide variety of topics, from the earliest times to the present day, in an effort to give the reader a sense of the distant past but also to offer a contemporary edge. Every article is illustrated with photographs, maps or paintings to provide a vivid impression of the topic.

FERMOY, SEPTEMBER 1919On 7 September 1919, approximately 25 IRA Volunteers assembled near the Wesleyan church in Fermoy,...
06/09/2026

FERMOY, SEPTEMBER 1919

On 7 September 1919, approximately 25 IRA Volunteers assembled near the Wesleyan church in Fermoy, Co. Cork. Their objective was to seize the ri**es carried by British soldiers attending Sunday service.

Led by Liam Lynch, the operation became the first organised IRA action against British military forces after the Easter Rising. One soldier was killed and three were wounded.

The following night, soldiers from the British garrison smashed windows and looted shops in Fermoy—the first reprisal of the War of Independence and the beginning of a pattern that would become increasingly destructive.

Read Joseph E.A. Connell Jr’s account:
https://historyireland.com/100-years-ago-first-war-of-independence-raid-on-british-soldiers-and-first-reprisal-fermoy-september-1919/

Image: Queen Square (now Pearse Square), Fermoy, in the early twentieth century. Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.

BLUESHIRTS, SPORTS AND SOCIALSThe Blueshirts are chiefly remembered for their politics and their association with fascis...
05/09/2026

BLUESHIRTS, SPORTS AND SOCIALS

The Blueshirts are chiefly remembered for their politics and their association with fascism—but what part did dances, cycle rides, picnics, whist drives and sporting events play in the movement’s rapid growth?

Under Eoin O’Duffy, an extensive social programme developed across the country. While the leadership regarded these activities as tools for recruitment and political organisation, many ordinary members simply welcomed the chance to escape the routine of rural life.

The events attracted young men and women in large numbers, but they also deepened existing political divisions. Dances and sporting gatherings became flashpoints for violence, while the movement’s enthusiasm for dancing brought it into conflict with the moral teachings of the Catholic Church.

Mike Cronin examines a less familiar aspect of the Blueshirts and asks whether politics, sport or the simple desire for a social life held the greatest appeal for its members.

Read the full article:
https://historyireland.com/blueshirts-sports-and-socials-by-mike-cronin/

NEW HISTORY IRELAND HEDGE SCHOOL PODCASTA ‘unique relationship’?—Ireland and the USA, 1920–presentRecorded live at Elect...
04/09/2026

NEW HISTORY IRELAND HEDGE SCHOOL PODCAST

A ‘unique relationship’?—Ireland and the USA, 1920–present

Recorded live at Electric Picnic, this discussion examines Ireland’s complex relationship with the United States—from the US government’s failure to recognise the Irish Republic in 1920 and tensions surrounding Irish neutrality during the Emergency to the influence of American far-right misinformation today.

History Ireland editor Tommy Graham is joined by Dan Mulhall, former Irish Ambassador to the United States; Bernadette Whelan of the University of Limerick; and John Gibney and Michael Kennedy of the RIA’s Documents on Irish Foreign Policy series.

Listen now:

https://www.historyireland.com/podcast-channel

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-ireland/id1503109266

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

From the latest September/October 2026 issue.How well known are Roger Casement and his humanitarian work in today’s Demo...
02/09/2026

From the latest September/October 2026 issue.

How well known are Roger Casement and his humanitarian work in today’s Democratic Republic of the Congo?

In February 2026, Dave Alvey, chair of the Roger Casement Summer School, travelled to Kinshasa to deliver lectures on Casement’s investigation of King Leopold II’s brutal rubber regime.

His audiences at three educational institutions were introduced not only to Casement’s landmark 1904 report, but also to his later involvement in Irish nationalism and the events that led to his ex*****on in 1916.

The visit prompted lively discussion about colonial history, the continuing Belgian influence on education in the DRC, and Casement’s relevance today.

Read ‘Roger Casement and the Congo today’ by Dave Alvey in the September/October 2026 issue of History Ireland.

🔗 [https://historyireland.com/roger-casement-and-the-congo-today/]

📷 Roger Casement—well known in Ireland, but how well known is he and his humanitarian work in today’s Democratic Republic of the Congo? (UCD Archives)

From the archivesIn October 1786, 27-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft arrived in Ireland to take up a post as governess to t...
29/08/2026

From the archives

In October 1786, 27-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft arrived in Ireland to take up a post as governess to the daughters of Lord and Lady Kingsborough at Mitchelstown Castle, Co. Cork.

Living within one of the wealthiest Anglo-Irish Ascendancy households gave her an intimate view of the privileged yet restricted lives of aristocratic women. Her experiences in Ireland would help inform the radical thinking on class, education and gender later expressed in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792).

Jenny McAuley explores this lesser-known Irish chapter in Wollstonecraft’s life in ‘From the Education of daughters to the Rights of woman: Mary Wollstonecraft in Ireland, 1786–7’, published in History Ireland, Jan./Feb. 2016.

🔗 Read the full article: [https://historyireland.com/from-the-education-of-daughters-to-the-rights-of-woman-mary-wollstonecraft-in-ireland-1786-7/]

Image: Portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft (c. 1787), attributed to the Irish painter John Keenan. (Bridgeman Library)

🎧 Nature On One: Casement110 years after the ex*****on of Roger Casement, RTÉ Radio 1’s Nature On One explores a lesser-...
28/08/2026

🎧 Nature On One: Casement

110 years after the ex*****on of Roger Casement, RTÉ Radio 1’s Nature On One explores a lesser-known aspect of his life — his deep love of nature and the natural world.

History Ireland editor Tommy Graham contributed to the programme, presented by ornithologist, author and broadcaster Eric Dempsey and produced by Derek Mooney.

First broadcast on 3 August, the 110th anniversary of Casement’s ex*****on in 1916, the programme is now available to listen back.

https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/mooney/2026/0724/1584965-nature-on-one-casement-03-08-26/

Remembering Anne Devlin – 175th anniversary commemorationOn Sunday, 20 September, a special ceremony will take place at ...
28/08/2026

Remembering Anne Devlin – 175th anniversary commemoration

On Sunday, 20 September, a special ceremony will take place at Glasnevin Cemetery to mark the 175th anniversary of the death of Anne Devlin (1780–1851).

A close associate and co-conspirator of Robert Emmet during the 1803 rebellion, Devlin endured imprisonment, interrogation and considerable hardship in its aftermath, refusing to betray Emmet and his fellow conspirators.

The commemoration continues the work of the much-missed historian Mícheál Ó Doibhilín in keeping Anne Devlin’s remarkable story alive.

The ceremony will take place at Anne Devlin’s graveside in Glasnevin Cemetery at 11am, with a reflection on her life by Aisling Ní Dhoibhilín.

Afterwards, a plaque will be placed on the grave of Anne’s husband, William Campbell, where Anne was originally buried. The commemoration will then continue in the Liberties, where the Liberty Belle pub on Francis Street will unveil a plaque in Anne’s memory.

Sunday 20 September 2026 | 11am
Glasnevin Cemetery
Admission free – all welcome

The event is non-party political. No banners or flags.

Full details in the poster below.

📚 The September/October 2026 issue of History Ireland is on its way!The new issue is now heading out to subscribers and ...
28/08/2026

📚 The September/October 2026 issue of History Ireland is on its way!

The new issue is now heading out to subscribers and will be available in shops from 1 September.

Inside, we range from the American Revolution and Irish domestic servants in Gilded Age America to the Waterford election of 1826, Dublin’s Civic Weeks, Wexford Festival Opera at 75 and Roger Casement and the Congo today.

Plus all our regular columns, reviews, archives, artefacts and much more.

🌐 For further details or to order a single copy: https://bit.ly/4yaHJ6I

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