The Irish poet Francis Ledwidge was an Irish nationalist and a British soldier who died fighting against the Kaiser, Willhelm II, at Ypres in the battle of Passchendale in 1917
Continue ReadingFriends in common troubles: lessons of the Somme
For too long we have been trapped by history, Martin McGuinness's visit to the Somme represents an opportunity to be liberated by it; to reach an understanding of the enormity of the Somme and its impact on the lives…
Continue ReadingA nation once again: Easter and the 1916 Rising
History is full of what ifs ... but we only have the history we have. Brutal, messy, contradictory history. A history where fact and fiction are intertwined, and where the heart can often rule the head.
Continue ReadingIs Ireland still fighting its own 100 years war?
The Easter Rising exploited that familiar Irish republican political observation: England’s difficulty is Ireland’s opportunity. With all its resources focused on the battle against Germany in France, England was certainly in difficulty in 1916.
Continue ReadingRebels without applause: unionism and 1916
Stonebreakers’ yard in Kilmainham Gaol where the Easter Rising leaders were executed It’s been some time since I read the “Proclamation of the Irish Republic to the People of Ireland”. When I was a boarder at St Colman’s College…
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