October 2021

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. Lectures and Events (some require registration)  

Dublin Festival of History  DETAILS & REGISTRATION HERE 

South County Dublin Decade of Centenaries Lectures  
October Lectures:  
Dr Éimear O’Connor Seán Keating: Art, Politics and Building the Irish Nation Thursday 7th October, 7pm.  

Teresa and Mary Louise O’Donnell Sisters of the Revolutionaries: The Story of Margaret and Mary Brigid Pearse Thursday 14th October, 7pm. 

Ian Kenneally The War on Newspapers 1921-3 Thursday 21st October, 7pm 

Commandant Daniel Ayiotis The Bureau of Military History: origins and overview of the collection Thursday 28th October, 7pm  REGISTRATION HERE 

Sources for the Irish Revolution – A Panel Discussion from Louth Library Service  
REGISTRATION HERE 

Clare County Library History Week, 16-22 October 
DETAILS HERE 

Treaty: Songs at the National Concert Hall  
National Concert Hall Presents Treaty: Songs With Lisa O’Neill, Gemma Dunleavy, John Spillane, Karan Casey, Maija Sofia, Duke Special, Jonathan Nangle & Crash Ensemble and more to be announced. 
Special guest Christy Moore Saturday 11th December, 8pm December 1921 saw Irish representatives gather to debate the Anglo-Irish Treaty at the Kevin Barry Rooms at Earlsfort Terrace, now NCH. The treaty that would lead to the Irish Civil War and prove a defining moment in the history of the Irish state.  Tickets €20 In-Person | €10 Livestream DETAILS HERE                   

2. Projects   
Centenary of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty  New exhibitions to mark the centenary of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty Catherine Martin T.D., Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media published a programme of events to mark the centenary of various aspects of the Anglo-Irish Treaty which was signed on the 6th December 1921. The Programme highlights some of the key national events taking place to mark various centenaries associated with the Treaty. Foremost of these is the National Archives exhibition in the Coach House at Dublin Castle later this year where the Treaty document will be displayed in public for the first time since its signing 100 years ago. The Programme further showcases a number of other important events and initiatives which examine different aspects of this founding document and mark the various centenaries of the milestones associated with the signing of the Treaty. It encourages the public to delve into the stories behind the Treaty and to access the various materials and rich content being supported, developed and delivered as part of the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Programme. 
These initiatives include exhibitions, lectures, new theatre experiences, new music, large-scale digitisation projects andexciting on-line content. Minister Martin took the opportunity of today’s publication to visit the National Archives for a preview of the Treaty. Minister Martin said: “This centenary moment is a really significant event in our shared history and a key focus in this year’s Decade of Centenaries Programme. It is also a personal journey into family memory for the relatives of the men and women who formed the Irish and British Treaty negotiation delegations. I wanted to ensure that the Programme has something that interests everyone. You don’t need to be an historian or an expert on this period of history to appreciate the different stories attached to this key document and the impact it had on future events.” The Programme launched this week also features a number of events hosted by the Irish Embassy in London including an exhibition of John Lavery’s Anglo–Irish Treaty Portraits in collaboration with The Hugh Lane Gallery, the National Gallery of Ireland and Áras an Uachtaráin and an exhibition entitled The Treaty, 1921: Records for the Archives in partnership with the National Archives, the British Academy, and the National Archives of the UK. DETAILS HERE
Wicklow Decade of CentenariesThe Historians’ Project   
The Wicklow Decade of Centenaries Programme supports the development of initiatives at county and community level to re-examine and commemorate significant events, individuals and groups during the revolutionary years (1913–23) in County Wicklow.  This publication Wicklow and the War of Independence, which is focused on Wicklow’s experience of the War of Independence (1919–­21), contributes to this goal by combining local stories and experiences with local research and scholarship via access to local archives. In doing so, it promotes a greater understanding of historical events and their legacies and thus encourages communities toward further exploration and reflection. It is a tangible demonstration of the benefits of free public access to authentic local archival sources, including online access to digitised local archives. AVAILABLE HERE                                         

 3. Podcasts  Crowd-funding the revolution—the underground administration  
Crowd-funding the revolution—the underground administration
Dáil Éireann sought not only to take back the political control lost in the 1800 Act of Union, but also the fiscal and monetary powers lost with the merger of the Irish and British exchequers in 1817.It also established a parallel legal system, the ‘Dáil Courts’, and, especially after the local elections of 1920, sought to control local government. 
To assess the success of these efforts join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with John Borgonovo, Caoimhe Nic Dháibhéid, Patrick O’Sullivan Greene, and Brian Hughes.
This Hedge School is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and
Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative. AVAILABLE HERE


Prisons and prisoners during the War of Independence  On 9th September 1921 over fifty IRA prisoners staged a break-out—one of several during the War of Independence—from Rath internment camp in the Curragh, Co. Kildare. To mark its centenary, and to discuss the wider significance of prisons and prisoners in the revolutionary period, join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, in discussion with James Durney, Mary McAuliffe, William Murphy, and Liam J. Ó Duibhir. This podcast is supported by Kildare County Council’s Decade of Commemorations Programme and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Initiative. AVAILABLE HERE
 5. Publications The fourth volume in the History Ireland commemorative series on aspects of the Irish Revolution.  
The Treaty, Civil War and partition profoundly shaped the Ireland in which we live. To mark the centenary of the Treaty and Civil War, History Ireland has produced a special supplement, The Split: From Treaty to Civil War 1921–23, featuring historians and writers. 
The Split introduces ground-breaking articles on women and the Treaty, the role of Eamon de Valera, the establishment of the Gardaí, the dead of the Civil War, the global reaction to Ireland’s independence, and the violence inside the new Northern Ireland state and along the border. It discusses controversial questions regarding Michael Collins and military dictatorship, why the Free State won the Civil War and how Northern Ireland came into being. It looks at how the war has been remembered and asks whether the era of Civil War politics has ended.  

Featuring contributions from:President Michael D. Higgins / David McCullagh / Mary McAuliffe / Rob Delaney / John Gibney / Kate O’Malley / Darragh Gannon / John Borgonovo / Lar Joye / Kieran Glennon / Paddy Mulroe / Charles Townsend / Bill Kissane / John M. Regan / Robert Gerwarth / Elizabeth Malcolm / Niamh Puirséil / Alison Martin / John Dorney / Margaret O’Callaghan / Ciara Chambers / Caitlin White / Frank Barry / Brian Hanley / Theo Dorgan Available in newsagents and bookshops, or online at the link below. 

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