Category Archives: Irish History

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The Irish Origin of Rubber Bullets

Ireland is famous for many things. Rolling green hills and natural beauty, monolithic tombs, castles, faeries and lore, wool, turf, and whiskey are just the first that come to mind. But it has many more dubious claims to fame as well – and one of those is the notorious rubber bullet.

The rubber bullet

The rubber bullet

This little guy was designed by the British government specifically for use in Northern Ireland as a crowd control tool against rioters. Those pesky people who wanted civil rights were causing problems and just wouldn’t stop. Because the British soldiers had fired on them numerous times and caused a significant number of deaths in the region, the government decided to give them a different option. They unveiled these totally better, non-lethal rounds (eye roll) so that they could hurt people but not kill them. The rounds were created to cause scars and pain, but in theory, they would not cause death. They were used for the first time on August 2nd, 1970.

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Miami Showband Massacre

Throughout history there are not many instances that one can absolutely prove that a horrible crime was just a part of a scheme that would have led to something much, much worse. The Miami Showband killings in Ireland is one of those times and it is an appalling lesson of just how brutal and insane the Troubles could get. It  is also a clear cut example of how involved the authorities were in some of the most heinous crimes of the era.

Showbands were quite a popular phenomenon in Ireland. The uniqueness of the showband was documented in the film “The Commitments” which was popular throughout the world. These bands usually had five to ten members and were loved for playing showtunes, pop music, jazz and down home rock n roll greats.  Many played the favorite traditional tunes of the area as well and they were extremely popular from the 50s right up until the mid-seventies. It’s amazing how quickly attendance and participation waned when one was targeted so ruthlessly by the paramilitaries of the UVF. Continue reading →

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Howth Gunrunning Ladies

100 years ago exactly, a large shipment of arms landed in Ireland. It took the actions of extraordinary women to accomplish the Howth Gun Running scheme of 1914. One, Alice Stopford Green, gave a loan to have the capital for negotiations. Two more, Molly Childers and Mary Spring Rice, raised the rest of the funds to purchase the weapons. They were transported on the Childer’s family yacht – The Asgard – and two of the women sailed proudly with them. This is not to say that they did it alone but without the actions of these women, this large landing of arms destined for the hands of the Irish Volunteers may never have happened. Continue reading →

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Remembering Margaret Buckley, Irishwoman Extraordinaire

52 years ago today, Ireland lost an incredible feminist voice. Few women have ever managed to juggle being an activist, a rebel, a suffragist, a wife, a prisoner, a judge, a volunteer, a commanding officer, a hunger striker, an author, and the President of a political party, especially during a time when most women were dismissed and ignored. In fact, only one comes to mind.

Margaret Buckley (née Goulding) was an unrepentant suffragist and Republican woman who began her long and lustrous career of activism and politics as the president of the Cork chapter of Inghinidhe na hEireann, before the organization merged with Cumann Na mBan. Later as a married woman, she became a prominent organizer of the Irish Women’s Workers Union and eventually returned to her role as President, but the next time she did it as the head of a newly revamped Sinn Fein. Continue reading →

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Blessed are the Peacemakers

Here’s one that on the face of it, might not normally fit in my blog. I usually rail against the PUP and many loyalist factions and traditions but I always try to give credit where credit is due. David Ervine is one person who deserves that credit and I write that without hesitation, if only to show how similar both sides of the divide in the North of Ireland may be. At the end of the day, I am a firm believer in peace, empathy, and understanding. I also believe that while fundamental change is incredibly difficult, some people can accomplish it. I may be naive, hippy-ish, or simply too far removed from the first-hand experience but I believe David Ervine managed to pull it off.

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The Death of the Countess

Her cell at Kilmainham, following the Easter Rising. I should mention the tour guide let me go back to take this picture, despite not usually allowing it, because I begged

“I do wish you lot had the decency to shoot me.” -Constance Markievicz, 1916.

Constance Markievicz may have wanted to die like her compatriots for her role in the Easter Rising but the English wouldn’t execute a woman. In the end, they may have wished they had, for the Countess had another 11 years to continue being a thorn in their side. She went straight into an even more political role, creating a world where women were more equal to the men, remaining staunchly Republican and inspiring thousands of people, including myself, throughout the years since. She is one of my favorite heroes.
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Ireland in the Atlas Obscura

I write for a few places – one of my longtime favorites is the Atlas Obscura which is a combination of an obscure travel guide and a historical Atlas. Their Irish section was woefully sparse before I filled it out (which I am still doing) and sometimes I like to share the entries.

The deserted village of Slievemore was one of the first I knew I had to add when I went to Ireland. We were there in the early hours of the morning and it was pouring down rain but we explored it anyway.

Interesting fact: When you’re deep into the Gaeltacht island of Achill in December, it is important to note that there are no off season accommodations. In fact the Annexe Pub was the only place we could find anyone and the amazing bartender had to call a friend who owns the summer hostel to turn on the heat and give us a room for the night. It was a much appreciated and really lovely thing for him to do for the crazy tourists who were traveling without an itinerary. If you make it out that way, have a pint – the Guinness was perfect – and give him some love from the crazy American ladies that he saved from a freezing storm.

The deserted village of Slievemore

The deserted village of Slievemore

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The face of sectarianism

I already posted a pretty lengthy opinion on the Orange Order parades so I won’t rehash it now. However, the planned “graduated protests” and the threats of real violence from Protestant leaders prove again that these people have failed to lead at all. If you ‘cannot guarantee’ that your own parades will be peaceful and you are in fact promising that they won’t, what right to you have to call yourself a leader? A sane party host would take responsibility for their guests and cancel the party themselves if things were sure to get out of hand. They would not be falsely ringing their hands, shrugging their shoulders and standing by while their home got destroyed. Leaders who cannot lead should be fired from their jobs no matter which side they adhere to.

And then there’s this.

Vandalized Mary

And this.

Effigy of Gerry Adams

These disgusting crimes put the question of “heritage and tradition” to rest, unless tradition has always been hate-filled supremacy and heritage has always been power over and at the extent of someone else. It is time to put an end to these truly vile events. It’s time to call it what it is – which in these cases, is a celebration of sectarianism, hatred and entitlement.

And please, if you are reading this from the North, do the right thing. Put pressure on the authorities to charge these things as the hate crimes that they are but for the next 48 hours, try to take the high road. Whether you are marching, protesting, or protecting yourselves, try to stay peaceful no matter what and keep each other safe. Respect should be granted to all humans, regardless of which side of the divide you stand on. I hope everyone and everything (except the hateful bonfires) are still standing on the 13th, as unlikely as that seems to be. My thoughts are with you from across the puddle.

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Walking tour – Revolutionary Women

The good folk at the Sinn Fein shop in Dublin have an amazing walking tour that they offer, that they call the Rebel Tour. I highly recommend it for people who are interested in Irish history – and even people who know a lot about it already are guaranteed to learn something new on the walk. ( The Rebel Tour )

That being said, I would do almost anything to be able to fly over the puddle and meet Dr. Mary McAuliffe this weekend for her own walking tour. Her tour is based on the revolutionary women who helped shape Ireland’s history – but who are often times reduced to a footnote in it. This is an insult that must be addressed in all the history books of all nations, but this year Ireland is doing a lot to remedy it. Perhaps it is due to the hundred year anniversary of Cumann Na mBan and the renewed interested in the female rebels, or maybe it is just because it’s time to acknowledge the women warriors. Either way, things like this walking tour make me very happy and I hope both men and women get involved in it. I am very sad that I am too far away to experience it.

If you aren’t, please join this tour on Sunday – and report back to the rest of us who cannot.

Rebel Women Walking Tour

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July 12th Parades

Everyone likes a parade. I get it. They’re all pomp and circumstance – people showing off their heritage, their music, their flags. There are parades worldwide for what seems like every single little excuse that anyone can find. Some are big, some are small, some are downright silly, and some threaten a fragile balance.

The marching season in the North of Ireland falls into the last category. July 12th is a day that roughly half of the population celebrates the victory of William of Orange (a Dutch King, by the way) over the English King James II. It’s a huge holiday which is steeped in irony, when you think about it. This is a bunch of people who violently insist on being considered British that take to the streets to celebrate a Dutch victory over their own historical ruler. Label that one for storage in the “Things that make you go hmmmm” file.

The truth is, they are really celebrating the defeat of Catholicism. James II was a Catholic and when the Dutch king defeated him, Protestants were granted great wealth and positions of power. It opened the door for instant change – one that Protestants in the area have enjoyed for centuries.
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