April 2023
| News and updates on the programme of commemorations relating to the events in Irish history that took place between 1912 and 1923. If you would like to inform us of any suitable material for future newsletters – anything related to the Decade of Centenaries – please feel free to email [email protected]. 1. Events/Lectures/Schemes (keep an eye out for registration & dates) ‘Arms dump’ that ended the Civil War in May 1923 Dublin City Council Historian in Residence Dr Mary Muldowney will be giving a lecture on ‘arms dump’ that ended the Civil War in May 1923. Central Library on Wed 3 May @ 1pm Register now: T: 01 222 8300 E: [email protected] Waterford and the Farm Labourers’ Strike of 1923 As part of their ongoing commemorations programme the Waterford Commemorations Committee are hosting a seminar on May 4th in the Park Hotel, Dungarvan to mark the Farm Labourers’ strike of 100 years ago in 1923. Attendance at the seminar is free of charge. The half day seminar involves presentations by Dr Emmett O’Connor, Dr Pat McCarthy, Dr Terry Dunne and Kieran Allen exploring topics such as the context for the strike in Waterford, intervention of the National Army, agricultural workers and the Irish revolution and the role of women in Labour History. Chair of Waterford Commemorations Committee Michael Farrell said “ This seminar explores a period of incendiarism in Waterford and explores the Farm Labourers Strike in the wider context of the labour movement, and the path taken by the new Irish Free State in its early days in relation to this attempt by workers to fight to have their voices heard.” The seminar will be followed by launch of the Waterford Commemorations Website Waterford1916to1923.ie and a GIS story Map detailing events and casualties of the Civil War in Waterford. Waterford’s Commemorations programme is funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries Programme. REGISTRATION HERE A Divided Shortgrass: Kildare during the Civil War,1922-1923. The Teresa Brayton Heritage Group are organising an event on Kildare during the Civil War in Kilcock Library Kildare Library Service on Thursday 4th May. In this seminar, Local Historian Mick Ó Murchú in the company of fellow Kildare Historians: Mario Corrigan,James Durney and Karel Kiely will discuss: ▶️The outbreak of Civil War in Kildare ▶️Political Temperature and Tensions ▶️Headline incidents across Kildare including a look at the Kilcock area. ▶️Reprisals ▶️The Role of Women ▶️Free State Executions and ‘Nine Lives’ ▶️The ‘other’ Civil War ▶️Challenge and Complexity of Commemoration 📜Motion for Debate: …’That Kildare was significantly more violent during the Civil War than during the War of Independence…’ 🗓️Thursday 4th May ⌚7pm 📍Kilcock Library If you would like to attend please email [email protected] ⚠️Booking essential as audience capacity is limited. Kildare Decade of Commemorations publications The Irish Women Workers’ Union, 1911-1984 Teatime Talk at 14 Henrietta Street: The Irish Women Workers’ Union, 1911-1984. Wednesday, May 10 at 6:00pm (in-person). Dr James Curry will provide a brief illustrated history of the Irish Women Workers’ Union, founded in 1911.The talk will examine the fluctuating fortunes of the union during its 73 year existence, and look at a selection of photographs and other primary source documents dealing with the “obstreperous lassies” of the IWWU. Dr James Curry is the Historian in Residence for Dublin North West. He has published widely on twentieth century Irish history. REGISTRATION HERE Poetry as Commemoration Poetry as Commemoration has partnered with Poetry Ireland to launch a programme of creative writing workshops across the island of Ireland. FULL DETAILS HERE Nan Hogan: her life in Cumann na mBan among women of the Irish Revolution Author Colm Liddy will give a talk on his book, Nan Hogan : her life in Cumann na mBan and Kilmainham Gaol among women of the Irish Revolution. Nan Hogan was a leading member of Cumann na mBan, the paramilitary organisation for women which played a decisive role in the Irish war of Independence. Nan was a crucial player behind the scenes in one of the war’s most violent districts. She was later jailed during the Civil War and served several months in Kilmainham. While in prison, Nan became friendly with some of the most radical and influential women of the era and shared a cell with Grace Gifford Plunkett. DETAILS HERE 7th Irish Military Seminar Riverbank Arts Centre are once again hosting the Irish Military Seminar. Now in the seventh year, the Irish Military Seminar, hosted by Kildare County Council and the County Kildare Decade of Commemorations Committee, is a series of free talks which take place over two days. This year the events will take place on Friday 19th and Saturday 20th May. Please see below for full event details and booking links. Admission to all events is free but booking is essential. DETAILS AND REGISTRATION Cork Public Museum Saturday Lecture Series A new series of talks between January and May 2023. They will be held on Saturdays at Cork Public Museum at 1pm. All are welcome but booking is essential. FULL DETAILS HERE 2. Exhibitions/Projects Untold Stories Tipperary Museum of Hidden History presents… ‘Untold Stories’ A new Civil War exhibition traces the historic and contentious period of Civil War in Ireland and highlights aspects of Tipperary’s involvement through the men and women on the ground. The exhibition is an explosion of colourised photographs from 1921 – 1924, expertly and accurately remastered. The uniqueness of this exhibition, is that it transports you back in time. View astonishing new material associated with Liam Lynch and stories pertaining to Michael Collins’ visits to Tipperary. While you peruse around the gallery, imagine you are standing side by side with these men and women who are living through harsh and secretive times. Spot a young Dan Breen carrying timber planks to build a makeshift bridge to allow a taxi carry arms to evade a blockade in a nearby local town. Examine images of volunteers who were photographed at Tipperary training camps and help us to name them for our archives. Artefacts, never before seen are also on display. These unique and often morbid pieces paint a picture of an unsettling disconnect from comradery and family, but narrate the harsh realities of Civil War for the men and women who supported or for those who were against the Treaty. Another distinguishing feature of Tipperary Museum of Hidden Histories new Civil War exhibition is the ‘Untold Stories’ section, which is magnificently presented. Images of life-sized local historians and relatives were interviewed and through this footage, speak about their family associations during the War of Independence and latterly the Civil War. The emotional and dramatic footage is still raw even after 100 years. The families will never forget these events however, the exhibition concludes with hope. Dr. Martin Mansergh in his interview discusses the impact of the Truce, the Civil War and the impact it had on the development of the State. He brings hope through the Northern Ireland Peace process and imparts his experience in the power of negotiation, dialogue and patience! The exhibition is funded by Tipperary County Council and the Department of Media, Culture, Tourism, Sport and the Gaeltacht and Creative Ireland Funding. ‘Untold Stories’, a new Civil War exhibition runs from October 21st 2022 – June 10th 2023. Tipperary Museum of Hidden History is located at Mick Delahunty Square, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland E91Y891. FULL DETAILS HERE Irish Manuscripts Commission Sources for Women’s History From October 1997 to June 1999 the Women’s History Project undertook a survey of a large number of public and private repositories in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland for collections or information relating to the history of women in Ireland from the earliest of times to the 1990s. This website, Sources for Irish Women’s History, is an updated version of that original survey. In 2022 this material was updated with checks being made on the repositories and their addresses. Collections and lists of material were, in some cases revised and websites, where available, were added. The update has resulted in this website which contains 20,790 records and 2,413 collections from 221 repositories around the country. FULL DETAILS HERE New digital collections relating to the Decade of Centenaries available on the Irish Labour History Society website. Further digitised material specifically relating to the 1912-23 period has recently been added to the Irish Labour History Society website. Irish Trade Union Congress and Labour Party Annual Reports for the 1901-25 period have been added (along with a synopsis of the 1894-1900 reports), while the 1924 partisan account of the split in the Irish labour movement following Jim Larkin’s return from the United States in April 1923. The Attempt To Smash The Irish Transport and General Workers Union is available view online for the first time here The Attempt to Smash the ITGWU Report 1924 – Irish Labour History Society These add to the existing collections digitised following receipt of funding from the Heritage Council under the Community Grants Scheme for the creation of a new website in 2022. Other Decade of Centenaries content available including an Irish Citizen Army Minute Book, Irish Transport & General Worker Union Annual Reports for the 1918-30 period & much content relating to the Post Office Workers Union’s role in the 1922 Postal Strike. Further content from the Society collections will be added in the months ahead. A reminder also that the Society’s collections in Beggars Bush, that contain a unique collection of records relating to Irish workers and their leaders/organisations, is open to researchers by prior appointment Monday-Friday. National Library Online Exhibitions FULL DETAILS HERE Digital Collections Cork Revolutionary Period 1912-1923 Cork Archives have an extensive collection digitised, and more that can be viewed in person in their research room. FULL DETAILS HERE 3. Podcasts The RDS Podcast The Military Archives: a history Episode from the Library Speaker Series Recorded in the RDS Library as part of The Dublin Book Festival 2022, History Ireland editor Tommy Graham interviews Commandant Daniel Ayiotis, director of the Military Archives in Cathal Brugha Barracks, and Zoe Reid, keeper of public services and collections at the National Archives. In this interview, Graham asks Reid about her book concerning her curation of an exhibition about the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations in 1921 (The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives). Ayiotis then explains about his book The Military Archives: A History which examines the National Army from its foundation in 1922 up until the present day. LISTEN HERE The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives The Military Archives: A History Small House Burnings In this podcast, author and historian Eoin Swithin Walsh recounts the lesser known story of the burning of smaller houses and homes in Kilkenny during the Civil War in the Spring of 1923.’Small House’ burnings are an often overlooked aspect of the Irish Civil War. But the consequences were no less traumatic. Both sides used the burning of homes as a tactic of war which reached its grim epoch during the spring of 1923. The reprisal and counter-reprisal nature of house burnings – ‘an eye for an eye’ – led to a series of homes being burned in south Kilkenny during March and April 1923. In this podcast, find out about a chain of small-house burnings, including that of the Minogue’s and Teehan’s (Shipton House) near Kilmanagh, the home and business of James Walsh in Templeorum, and the home of Mary Walsh of Portnascully, Carrigeen, Mooncoin.’LISTEN HERE Archbishop John Charles McQuaid—a reassessment John Charles McQuaid, archbishop of Dublin from 1940 to 1972, was a colossus of the Catholic Church in his day, famous (or infamous) for his opposition to health minister Noel Browne’s Mother and Child Scheme. Less well known is his pioneering work on Irish emigrant welfare in Britain and his influence on the architecture and planning of Dublin. Join History Ireland editor Tommy Graham in discussion with Brian Harvey (social researcher), Mary Kenny (The way we were: Catholic Ireland since 1922), David McCullagh (biographer of Eamon de Valera) and Ellen Rowley (architectural historian). This Hedge School is supported by the National Library of Ireland. LISTEN HERE The Irish Taoiseach podcast Iain Dale talks to Irish political historian Dr Ciara Meehan about the life and politics of W T Cosgrave, the man who became President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State in 1922 and served in the office for ten years until losing the 1932 general election to Eamon De Valera and Fianna Fail. Although the office of Taoiseach wasn’t formally inaugurated until 1937, Cosgrave is widely considered to be the first holder of the post. LISTEN HERE ON SPOTIFYLISTEN HERE ON GLOBAL PLAYER April 1920: Month of Revolution Divided Land: Episode Two – A Podcast with Terry Dunne Join Terry Dunne (Laois Historian In Residence 2021-2022) on a journey of discovery into the hidden history of the Irish revolution as it happened in Laois. In this second episode we’ll be looking at a ‘Land for the People’ demonstration that took place in Killeshin on the borders of counties Laois and Carlow in April 1920 – and broadening out to look at that month – a month of revolution that saw the burning of police barracks, a general strike in support of hunger striking political prisoners, and industrial action to restrict food exports. We’ll also hear something of the growth of a ‘peace party’ within Dublin Castle and we’ll have an overview of some of the political career of Patrick ‘Paudge’ Gaffney, a Killeshin man and a key activist in the ‘Land for People’ demonstration.LISTEN HERE |