A talk I gave in December 2021 as part of the Dublin Festival of History   For over half a century, the statue of IRA Chief-of-Staff Seán Russell in Fairview Park has been both a flashpoint of controversy and site of devoted Irish republican pilgrimage. But who was this key…

A talk I gave for the East Wall History Group in August 2021. For over half a century, the statue of IRA Chief-of-Staff Seán Russell in Fairview Park has been both a flashpoint of controversy and site of devoted Irish republican pilgrimage. But who was this key IRA figure of…

In June 2021 I was a guest on The Irish History Show podcast, to discuss the divisive life and legacy of Seán Russell, the former Chief of Staff of the IRA.   On this episode of the Irish History Show we were joined by Gerard Shannon to discuss Seán Russell,…

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…