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.

At 3.10am on 7 June 1917, soldiers from the 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) Divisions went over the top together at Wijts...
07/06/2026

At 3.10am on 7 June 1917, soldiers from the 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) Divisions went over the top together at Wijtschate-Messines Ridge in one of the most carefully planned battles of the First World War.

For some, the battle represented something greater than military success. Could Irishmen from opposing political traditions fight side by side—and perhaps one day live together in peace?

In this powerful feature for History Ireland, Tom Burke explores the experiences of the men who fought at Wijtschate, from football matches and shared billets in Flanders to the brutal realities of trench warfare. Drawing on letters, diaries and eyewitness testimony, the article examines moments of comradeship, tension and mutual respect between nationalist and unionist soldiers serving together on the Western Front.

As Willie Redmond hoped in 1916, could a ‘bridge between north and south’ be built over the graves of those who died in the war?

Read more: [https://historyireland.com/brotherhood-among-irishmen-the-battle-of-wijtschate-messines-ridge-june-1917/]

Image: Royal Dublin Fusiliers celebrating their victory at Wijtschate, June 1917. (Imperial War Museum)

History Ireland, Issue 5 (September/October 2007).

All of us at History Ireland and the Wordwell group are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dermot Mulligan, Cura...
05/06/2026

All of us at History Ireland and the Wordwell group are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dermot Mulligan, Curator of Carlow County Museum for more than 24 years and one of Ireland's most dedicated champions of local history and heritage.

Throughout his career, Dermot brought Carlow's rich past to life for countless visitors, researchers, and members of the wider community.

We extend our sincere condolences to Dermot's family, friends and colleagues at Carlow County Museum.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

How does the daughter of an Irish soldier from Birr end up imprisoned in Ravensbrück concentration camp for resisting th...
02/06/2026

How does the daughter of an Irish soldier from Birr end up imprisoned in Ravensbrück concentration camp for resisting the N***s?

From the History Ireland archives:

AGNES FLANAGAN FROM BIRR—A LONELY RÉSISTANTE
By Isadore Ryan

Born in Birr army barracks in 1909, Agnes Flanagan travelled to Belgium in 1930 and later joined the Sisters of Saint Augustine, working as a nursing sister in Tournai under the name ‘Soeur Augustine’.

During the German occupation she hid escaped British prisoners of war, resisted the occupiers and was twice arrested by the Gestapo before being deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp in December 1942.

Flanagan survived imprisonment, forced labour and near ex*****on. In Easter 1945 she narrowly escaped the gas chambers when she was instead evacuated from Ravensbrück aboard the Swedish ‘white buses’, arriving in Malmö on 26 April 1945.

After the war she faced years of difficulty gaining official recognition as a political prisoner in Belgium. Fellow survivors remembered her as courageous, compassionate and utterly unwilling to submit to N**i authority.

A remarkable and deeply moving story of an Irishwoman whose quiet resistance took her from Birr to Ravensbrück and back again.

Read more: [https://historyireland.com/agnes-flanagan-from-birr-a-lonely-resistante/]

Image: Travel document issued by the French authorities in Sweden to an emaciated Agnes Flanagan in June 1945. (DAVCC)

History Ireland, Issue 5 (September/October 2023).

This Bank Holiday weekend, why not pick up a copy of the latest History Ireland and revisit the story of Frongoch intern...
30/05/2026

This Bank Holiday weekend, why not pick up a copy of the latest History Ireland and revisit the story of Frongoch internment camp in Wales — where many of the men imprisoned after the 1916 Rising regrouped, reorganised and prepared for the revolutionary years ahead.

In Frongoch Revisited, Damien McLellan explores the surviving site, the remarkable local efforts to preserve its history, and the enduring links between Ireland and Wales.

Featuring Michael Collins, Richard Mulcahy, Terence MacSwiney and many others who passed through what became known as the ‘University of Revolution’.

Image: One of the surviving huts on the site of Frongoch internment camp. (Joanna Brück)

A wonderful evening in Chapters Bookstore, Dublin, for the launch of Enemies of the State: Richard Musgrave, the Rebelli...
28/05/2026

A wonderful evening in Chapters Bookstore, Dublin, for the launch of Enemies of the State: Richard Musgrave, the Rebellion of 1798 and the Making of Sectarian Irish History by Fergus Whelan.

The book was launched by Donal Fallon and introduced by Tommy Graham, editor of History Ireland, before a packed audience in Chapters on Parnell Street.

Fergus Whelan’s new study re-examines the legacy of Richard Musgrave and the influence his interpretation of 1798 had on understandings of Irish history for generations.

From the History Ireland archives:Issue 5 (September/October 2024), Volume 32When Cork’s lord mayor incurred the wrath o...
28/05/2026

From the History Ireland archives:
Issue 5 (September/October 2024), Volume 32
When Cork’s lord mayor incurred the wrath of N**i Germany
By Pat Poland

In February 1939, just months before the outbreak of the Second World War, the German battleship Schlesien sailed into Cork Harbour on a so-called courtesy visit.

But Cork’s lord mayor, Alderman Jim Hickey TD, refused to welcome the ship’s officers and crew. His protest followed N**i Germany’s disparaging response to the death of Pope Pius XI, and his stance soon made international headlines.

The incident offers a revealing glimpse of Ireland, Cork, Catholic politics and German naval activity on the eve of war.

Read the full article in the History Ireland archives:
[https://historyireland.com/when-corks-lord-mayor-incurred-the-wrath-of-nazi-germany/]
Subscribers enjoy free access to the entire History Ireland digital archive.

📷 Image: Alderman Jim Hickey TD, lord mayor of Cork. Courtesy Cork Examiner.

27/05/2026

Reminder: Book launch this Thursday

Join us for the launch of Enemies of the State: Richard Musgrave, the Rebellion of 1798 and the Making of Sectarian Irish History by Fergus Whelan.

Launched by Donal Fallon.

🗓 Thursday 28 May 2026
🕡 6:30pm
📍 Chapters Bookstore, Ivy Exchange, Parnell St, Rotunda, Dublin 1, D01 P8C2

Please RSVP by booking a free ticket via Eventbrite:
👉[https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/enemies-of-the-state-by-fergus-whelan-book-launch-free-event-tickets-1988860511328]

On the 27 May 1922, combined pro- and anti-Treaty IRA forces occupied the ‘Belleek/Pettigo triangle’, an enclave of Ferm...
26/05/2026

On the 27 May 1922, combined pro- and anti-Treaty IRA forces occupied the ‘Belleek/Pettigo triangle’, an enclave of Fermanagh accessible only through Free State territory.

The occupation formed part of the so-called ‘Northern Offensive’, a short-lived but dramatic episode in the turbulent months before the outbreak of the Civil War.

Read Seán Bernard Newman’s article, The Battle of the Belleek/Pettigo Triangle, May/June 1922, from the May/June 2022
issue of History Ireland [https://historyireland.com/the-battle-of-the-belleek-pettigo-triangle-may-june-1922/]

Listen back to the accompanying Hedge School discussion with Tommy Graham, Edward Burke, Margaret O’Callaghan and Éamon Phoenix exploring the wider context of partition, the Treaty split and violence on the border. [https://historyireland.com/the-belleek-pettigo-triangle-may-june-1922/]

📷 ‘Admiral’ Mrs Hazel Laverton aboard HMS Pandora, flanked by heavily armed ‘A’ Specials.

With today’s sunshine and June almost upon us, memories of Cork’s great Corpus Christi processions return once more.In t...
24/05/2026

With today’s sunshine and June almost upon us, memories of Cork’s great Corpus Christi processions return once more.

In this article from the May/June 2026 issue of History Ireland, Antóin O’Callaghan explores the origins of the city-wide Corpus Christi celebrations inaugurated in 1926.

Inspired by Bishop Daniel Coholan’s visit to Rome, the first procession transformed Cork into an open-air place of worship, with more than 35,000 participants processing through streets decorated with banners, flowers and papal colours.

📷 Bishop Daniel Coholan at the centenary celebrations for Catholic Emancipation in the Mardyke on 14 July 1929, which incorporated that year’s Corpus Christi procession. Read more:[https://historyireland.com/corpus-christi-in-cork/]

As preparations continue to mark the centenary of the event in June 2026, the article reflects on a remarkable expression of religious and civic life in twentieth-century Cork.

24/05/2026

What do the MacCarthy Cup and prehistoric bog butter have in common?

In this contribution to the Know Your Monuments series, Muiris O’Sullivan and Liam Downey explore the evolution of hurling, Gaelic football and camogie over centuries of Irish history.

From the Statutes of Kilkenny in 1366 banning hurling, to cross-country football matches and the foundation of camogie in 1904, the article traces the deep cultural roots of Ireland’s national games.

The piece also examines the links between modern sporting trophies and historic artefacts, including the resemblance between the MacCarthy Cup and the four-handled mether vessels in which bog butter has been discovered.

Read more in the Autumn 2017 issue of Archaeology Ireland.
https://archaeologyireland.ie/2018/03/19/evolution-of-gaelic-games/


Image: The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Trophy (MacCarthy Cup, above left) and a vessel known as a mether (left), in which bog butter may be found (courtesy of the National Museum of Ireland).

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