I wrote this article which was originally published online by The Irish Times on Saturday, 17 October 2020. That date marked the 100th anniversary of the death of Michael Fitzgerald, the first republican to die during the Irish War of Independence. See the link to the original article here. I also discussed…

I wrote this article which was originally published online by The Irish Times on Friday, 4 September 2020. The article was timed for the 80th anniversary on 6 September 2020 of the state executions of Patrick McGrath and and Thomas Harte, the first such executions of IRA members since the…

For The Irish Story, published 13 July 2020.  On Sunday, 9th September 1951, an impressive crowd gathered at Fairview Park for the unveiling of a new statue following a parade from Dublin city centre. The statue was of the late Chief-of-Staff of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Seán Russell, who…

For The Irish Story, published 2 July 2020. It was a grim, low-key farewell. On August 14th 1940, roughly 100 miles west off the Galway coast, an unconventional funeral was held for Seán Russell, the now-late Chief-of-Staff of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). At the time of his death, Russell…

One individual to the fore on the victorious side of the Irish Civil War of 1922-23 was Richard Mulcahy. Mulcahy was initially the chief-of-staff, and later, commander-in-chief of the National Army of the Irish Free State. This army was formed in the early months of 1922 before the outbreak of…

”One of the most brilliant young Irishmen of our day’: The life of Joseph MacDonagh, TD, 1883-1922′, A piece contributed to Cloughjordan Heritage X , published by the Cloughjordan Heritage Group (2018). To inquire for copies, click here.…

A contribution to The Irish Story, published 9th July 2016.     Muriel MacDonagh, wife of executed 1916 leader Thomas MacDonagh, outlived him by just one year. By Gerard Shannon On 9th July 1917, just over a year following the execution of Thomas MacDonagh for his part in the Easter…

A contribution to The Irish Story, published 27th June 2016.     In most accounts of the events leading to the foundation of the Irish Free State, Rory O’Connor remains best known for his controversial leadership of the anti-Treaty IRA faction in 1922, at the outset of what became known…

  ‘Muriel MacDonagh: Tragic Death of a 1916 Widow’, a contribution to Time & Tide No. 10, published by Skerries Historical Society, Dublin (2016). Time & Tide, Volume 10, published October 2016, contains ten local history papers which were presented at the Skerries Historical Society monthly meetings. Thanks to the…

Arthur Griffith, Sinn Féin & 1916, Irish Independent (online edition), published 9th March 2016.   The Easter Rising was popularly termed the ‘Sinn Féin Rebellion’ but what was the real role of the party and its leader Arthur Griffith? The party, in fact, would have gradually faded away had the…