Irish traditions around Christmas - post on RTÉ Brainstorm

Several traditions and customs in Ireland around Christmas time date back centuries. Some are still observed today even though Ireland and Irish society have changed over time. 

One tradition that is still common in some parts of the country is the celebrations that take place on St. Stephen's Day or the Wren's Day as it is also known when people dress up and disguise themselves. In the past, they went from house to house asking for a donation to 'bury the wren'. Today, there is usually a charitable element to the enterprise where people dress as 'straw boys' as in the photograph from Carrigaline at the bottom of this post. I have just written a piece for RTÉ Brainstorm website about it. Read it here.

 

St Stephen's in Stradbally, Co. Kerry, 1930s. Image source.

Marie-Louise Sjoestedt (1900-1940) wrote about her first-hand experience of having a group of 'wren boys' come into the house where she was staying in Kerry at Christmas 1929. It is interesting to read about her impression of the festive period and the good natured celebrations. I wrote another Brainstorm piece on Sjoestedt and her connection to Ireland a little while ago. Read it here. 

 

'Straw boys' in Carrigaline, Co. Cork on St Stephen's Day 2022.

An Irish Diary on the Irish Chartist leader Feargus O'Connor

Feargus O'Connor was a leader of the Chartist movement which was one of the world's first mass working-class movements. I have just written an Irish Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about his life and times. Read it here.

 

Feargus O'Connor (1794-1855). Image source.

Feargus O'Connor was a fascinating figure who left behind what could have been a comfortable life as a parliamentarian, lawyer or landlord for a life of struggle helping to bring about better civic rights for ordinary citizens. 

His entry in the Dictionary of Irish Biography is worth a read if you want to find out more about him. This website about Chartist ancestors has lots of information about O'Connor. There is also a good resume of O'Connor's life on the Manuscripts and Special Collections webpage of the University of Nottingham.

If you would like to find out more about Chartism, its origins and its aims, here are some useful links where you could start:

What was Chartism? UK National Archives website

Chartism BBC 'In Our Time' podcast

The Chartist movement BBC Bitesize

The Chartist movement UK Parliament website

 

Notre-Dame cathedral - RTÉ Brainstorm article

After nearly five years of renovation and reconstruction, Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris will open to the public on 8 December 2024. I have just written a short article for RTÉ Brainstorm on the history of the building and an Irish connection to Notre-Dame. Read it here.

 

 Notre-Dame cathedral under renovation (March 2024)

 

Notre-Dame was built on the site of another cathedral and historians believe that there was a Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter there before that. The current cathedral dates from 1163 and it has been the site of construction, renovation and reconstruction many times during its lifetime. On this occasion, over €700 million was spent to reconstruct the roof and spire which were damaged in the fire that broke out in April 2019. 

 

Page from Victor Hugo's Notre-Dame de Paris [Hunchback of Notre Dame]. Image source.

Listed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites as Paris, Banks of the Seine since 1991, Notre-Dame is an icon of French Gothic architecture. To learn about the history of the cathedral, there's a good 12 point history here and on the Europeana website. 

Notre-Dame's official website also has a good history of the cathedral here. On the Gallica website here you can discover about the history of the cathedral by searching through archival material. The 2019 fire burned for 15 hours and temperatures reached around 1,200°F. If you would like to read more about the fire and the work that was done in the years since then, there is a good article here from Archaeology Magazine and here from the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris website.

 

Fr Lacordaire giving a funeral oration for Daniel O'Connell in Notre-Dame in 1848. Image source.

I came across the reference to Daniel O'Connell and the funeral oration in Notre-Dame by Fr Lacordaire in a couple of places. The first time I saw it was in the edited volume on Franco-Irish history Paris - Capital of Irish Culture. There are references to O'Connell in chapters by Kevin Whelan and Laurent Colantonio.

Poet of the Troubles - an Irish Diary on Pádraic Fiacc

The poet Pádraic Fiacc (1924-2019) was known as the 'Poet of the Troubles'. He was born Patrick Joseph O'Connor and reared in Belfast and New York. I have just written an Irish Diary in the Irish Times newspaper on his life and work. Read it here.

 

Photograph of Pádraic Fiacc by John Minihan. Image source.

He wrote poems inspired by the turbulent period in Irish and British known colloquially as 'the Troubles'. Fiacc was an influential writer who helped the next generation in Northern Ireland to develop their skills. He mentored a series of young poets and writers including Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon, Derek Mahon, Ciaran Carson and Gerald Dawe.

Fiacc was photographed on many occasions by the photographer John Minihan. Minihan's archives are held in the Special Collections section of the Boole Library in University College Cork and you can find out about the collection here.

Fiacc had an interesting accent that included a bit of Belfast and America. If you would like to hear how he spoke, check out this interview with him from 2010 where he talks about his life and growing up in Belfast and New York.

An Irish Diary on Jimmy Walker - the first Mayor of New York to resign

Jimmy Walker (1881-1946) was the first Mayor of New York to resign. His father came from Co. Kilkenny and emigrated to the US in 1870. The two men entered political office and worked for their constituents. Of the two, Jimmy is still remembered today (but for all the wrong reasons!). I have just written an Irish Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about him. Read it here. 

 

Mayor Jimmy Walker. Image source.

Jimmy Walker visited Ireland in 1927. This is a newsreel showing some scenes from his visit. It includes his meeting W.T. Cosgrave (1880-1965) in Dublin and his trip to Kilkenny where he spoke to locals in Castlecomer - the town where his father was born and where he was made a Freeman of the city. In Castlecomer, you can see bare-footed children walking through the town in advance of the marching band and the car carrying Walker into the town.

 

Source of the newsreel.  

 

Jimmy Walker was Mayor of New York during the so-called Jazz Age and was also in office during the Wall Street Crash of 1929. He was forced to resign in September 1932 following a long-running investigation into corrupt practices in the New York Police Department and judiciary. There is a good article here from the Smithsonian Magazine which explains the case against Walker. It is well worth a read.

 

Photography of Jimmy Walker (center wearing hat and smoking a cigarette) flanked by city officials and police.

PhD Conferring University College Cork

I was delighted to attend the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences conferring in University College Cork recently where I was conferred with a PhD. 

It was not an easy road and took a lot of effort but I am pleased to have reached this point. I could not have done it alone and therefore, would like to thank everyone who helped me to achieve this goal including friends, family, students, colleagues, supervisors and examiners.

 

Standing in the stone corridor of the north wing of the UCC quadrangle.

 

Receiving the PhD parchment from the President of UCC Prof. John O'Halloran at the conferring ceremony.

Chess at the Olympics - RTÉ Brainstorm article

Chess is an ancient game but it was never part of the Olympics. However, 100 years ago as the Olympic Games were taking place in Paris, a chess tournament was being played with competitors from around the world (including Ireland). It was termed the 'Chess Olympics' by some, given that the tournament was taking place on the fringes of the Olympics. I have just written about this historical event for the RTÉ Brainstorm website. Read it here.

 

Chess board. Image source.

Chess also featured at the Tailteann Games in Dublin in 1924. The Games were used by the new Irish government to promote the country and attract international media attention.

Royal Bounty for multiple birth - an Irish Diary

Known as the Royal Bounty (King's / Queen's Bounty), a discretionary payment was made to new mothers of triplets in the 19th and 20th century. I have just written an Irish Diary about some Irish people who received the payment. Read it here. 

 

Photograph of triplets. Image source.

It is believed that the Royal Bounty for triplets was started by Queen Victoria when she heard about a poor Irish woman who gave birth to triplets in 1849. The term 'Royal Bounty' was used in other cases as well - such as when a soldier lost a limb in the line of duty, they could receive a payment as compensation. There are also references to the term 'Royal Bounty' when pension payments to army officers were mentioned, so it would seem that it was used to describe a variety of payments made by the monarch to individuals. As this book Royal Bounty: The Making of a Welfare Monarchy suggests, Victoria and other royals instigated a number of payments that would today be made by the state.

Everyman Theatre Cork - an Irish Diary

The Everyman Theatre in Cork is one of the city's most important cultural hotspots. It has a long history and I have just written an Irish Diary in the Irish Times newspaper looking at that rich history. Read it here.

 

Interior of the Everyman Theatre, Cork. Image source.

The theatre was opened in 1897 and operated as a variety theatre initially. These were very popular at the time and touring artists would go from theatre to theatre around Britain and Ireland. Film has played an important role in the building's history. A short film was shown on the opening night and the building served as a cinema for decades after the theatre closed. It became a theatre again when the Everyman Playhouse took it over at the start of the 1990s. There's a video here on the RTÉ Archives website of the Playhouse in 1974.

The Everyman Playhouse had been based in the CYMS Hall and the Father Mathew Hall. It was a big undertaking to be moving to such a big 900-seat venue but as Dan Donovan says in his biography Ward Anderson, the owners of the Palace Cinema, sold the building for £120,000, payable at £10,000 per annum. There's a video here from March 1990 on the re-opening of the theatre. 

 Some of the Everyman directors were worried that it was too big and too dilapidated but a lot work has been put into the building over the years and it is now in the best shape it has been since it opened almost 130 years ago. Long may it continue.

Limerick's Olympian - an Irish Diary on John O'Grady

John O'Grady (1892-1934) was selected to carry the Irish flag at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. The Limerick-born weight thrower had won some national and international titles by the time he was asked to bear the flag at Ireland's first ever Olympics. I have just written an Irish Diary in today's Irish Times about O'Grady's life and times. Read it here.

 

John O'Grady (1892-1934). Image source.

John O'Grady was one of a team of 48 Irish athletes (including swimmers, tennis players, soccer players and others) to represent their country in Paris in 1924. Sadly, the athletes did not manage to bring any medals back with them but some of our artists did. For more information on Ireland's first foray into the Olympics, read my RTÉ Brainstorm article. 

O'Grady is remembered in his native city by a monument that sits on Mulgrave Street (photo below). Unveiled in 1937, it is in the shape of a weight and is made of limestone. It is a landmark in the city and has been taken to their hearts by Limerick's citizens.

 

John O'Grady monument. Image source.

An Irish Diary on William Lombard Murphy (1876-1943)

William Lombard Murphy (1876-1943) was the son of the businessman and newspaper proprietor William Martin Murphy (1844-1919). That is sometimes how he is referred to but William Lombard Murphy had an interesting story in his own right. I have just written an Irish Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about him. Read it here.

 

Photograph of William Lombard Murphy (1876-1943).

Educated at Jesuit-run schools in Ireland (Belvedere College, Dublin and Clongowes Wood College, Kildare) and Austria (Feldkirk) and university in England (Cambridge), he was fluent in French and German. He studied medicine and practiced abroad and in Ireland for a good number of years before taking over his father's affairs when his father died in 1919. He was in charge of Independent Newspapers when the new offices were built on Middle Abbey Street in 1924. 

 

Independent House, Middle Abbey Street, Dublin. Image source.

Very involved with various different aspects of Dublin business life (Chamber of Commerce, Irish Tourist Association, Publicity Club of Ireland) and social life (Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society, Herald Boot Fund, Belvedere Newsboys' Club), he seems to have been slightly forgotten by the general public. However, some links still remain such as the Lombard Murphy Cup awarded at the Feis Ceoil every year.

RTÉ Brainstorm article on 5 Irish-born athletes at the Olympics

Ireland did not compete as an independent delegation at the Olympic Games until 1924. Prior to that, Irish-born athletes competed for other nations such as the United Kingdom (of which Ireland was a part until 1922) or the USA or Canada. I have just written an article for the RTÉ Brainstorm website on five of the Irish-born athletes who competed for other countries. Read it here.

 

Programme cover from the 1908 Games. Image source.

Given that she was the first Irish-born woman to win an Olympic medal, Beatrice Hill-Lowe (1868-1951) is one of the more unusual athletes that I wrote about. Born in Ardee in Co. Louth, she lived in England for a large part of her lifetime but she also spent time in Celbridge, Co. Kildare in the 1920s. If you would like to know more about her, you will find is a good bit of information in her entry in the Dictionary of Irish Biography here. There is a short YouTube video here showing women taking shots with their bows and arrows at the 1908 Olympic Games in London and she is among them.  

Kennedy 'Ken' McArthur is another interesting Irish-born athlete who competed for another country. He represented South Africa in the Marathon at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. It was a grueling race that was run in extremely hot temperatures that caused around half of the competitors to drop out before the finish. This page on the Olympics website lists all of those who entered and those who did not finish the race. There is a short video of McArthur at the Olympic Games in Stockholm here.

RTÉ Brainstorm article on 100 years of Ireland at the Olympics

It is 100 years since Ireland first competed at the Olympic Games as an independent delegation. Prior to that, Irish people went to the Olympics as part of the Great Britain delegation, so Ireland's participation at the 1924 Games in Paris is important as it marks a step on Ireland's path to freedom. I have just written an article for the RTÉ Brainstorm website on the Irish team that went to Paris in 1924. Read it here.

 

Screenshot of the article.

I have written a few more pieces like this about Ireland and the Olympics and will share them when they are published. If you would like to find out more about the story of Ireland's first time at the Olympics, there is more information here on the website of the Centre Culturel Irlandais. The book Gold, Silver and Green: The Irish Olympic Journey 1896-1924 by Kevin McCarthy provides a good basis to understand the history of Ireland's Olympic journey.

Regarding early Irish entries into the Olympics, there are a couple of good articles on the History Ireland website. There is this one on boxing and this one on football.

Talk in Glasnevin Cemetry on William Lombard Murphy - 14 July 2024

Every year the French embassy in Ireland holds a ceremony at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin to honour those Irishmen who fought for France. This includes those who fought during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), the First World War (1914-1918) and the Second World War (1939-1945). It usually takes place on France's national holiday - 14 July.

 

Photograph of me speaking at the ceremony in Glasnevin Cemetery 14 July 2024.

Every year for the last number of years, an Irish recipient of the French Légion d'honneur is commemorated after the ceremony. This year it was William Lombard Murphy (1876-1943) who was remembered at the graveyard. I was asked by the embassy to speak about Dr Murphy's life and times. I was pleased to do so and was delighted to meet members of his extended family who were present at the ceremony. I am writing a newspaper article based on my speech and will share more details as soon as it is published.

Travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor and Ireland - An Irish Diary

Patrick Leigh Fermor (1915-2011) was known for his fascinating tales of travel to far-off lands. He was also familiar with Ireland, having visited the country many times and had a long association with Lismore in Country Waterford. I have just written an Irish Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about his links with Ireland. Read it here.

 

Photograph of Patrick Leigh Fermor. Image source.

 

The letters that Fermore and Deborah Cavendish (Debo Duchess of Devonshire, owner of Lismore castle) exchanged other over the years offer great insight into their friendship and their impressions of Lismore and Ireland. Formor used his travel-writing skills to great aplomb in his letters. It's amazing to see him liken the Blackwater which runs alongside the castle to the mighty Zambezi and the Limpopo in Africa. This was on account of the bird-life and fish present and the trees "so thick with ferns and parasites and so looped and festooned with creepers".

 

Lismore castle in Lismore, Co. Waterford.

In a letter to Enrica (Ricki) Huston (1929-1969) in June 1961, Fermor described the walk which skirts the Blackwater and can run for a mile or two straight as a "diminishing vista like a watery Champs Elysées". One of my favourite anecdotes about his time in Ireland is where he recounts visiting a house in the woods and being given tea, Guinness and currant-buns. Afterwards, he thumbed a lift back to the castle in a lorry. I'm sure that lorry driver had a story to tell afterwards about his unusual passenger. 

 

An Irish Diary on L'Opéra d'Aran by Gilbert Bécaud

The Aran islands that lie off Ireland's west coast are a special place. This is due to their physical landscape of stone walls and karst limestone and the importance of the Irish language to daily life on the islands. 

Down through the centuries, they have inspired artists, writers and poets and have attracted international attention. I have just written am Irish Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about an opera set on the Aran islands that was written by a Frenchman. Read it here.

 

Photograph of L'Opéra d'Aran at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. Image source.

Gilbert Bécaud (1927-2001) was a popular singer and composer who was known as 'Monsieur 100,000 volts' and 'Monsieur Dynamite' on account of his engaging and electrifying stage performance. If you would like to find out more about him, have a look at the conference paper that Axel Klein gave at the Association of Franco-Irish Studies (AFIS) conference in Dublin in 2014. Read it here.

If you would like to hear Bécaud speak or listen to some of his music, there are a number of programmes on the Radio France website about him and his music. Just enter his name into the website's search bar like this and see what you can find.

Famous American army chaplain - an Irish Diary on Fr Francis P. Duffy

Born in Canada to the children of Irish emigrants, Francis P. Duffy (1871-1932) left a lasting legacy among his parishioners and in the regiment and army in which he served. I have just written an Irish Diary about the famous US army chaplain in the Irish Times newspaper. Read it here.

 

Photograph of the Fr Duffy monument located off Times Square. Taken by my brother.

Photograph of the reverse of the Fr Duffy monument.

 

As I mentioned in my newspaper article, the monument pictured above was erected in 1937. Made of green granite from Minnesota, it is located in a prominent position in a major tourist area just off Times Square. Learn about the history of Father Duffy Square here and about the story of the statue designed by Charles Keck here.

 

1937 photograph of the monument and statue (still wrapped up) before its unveiling. Image source.

 

Fr Duffy's 1919 book.

In 1919, Fr Duffy wrote a book about his experience of the War. It was called Father Duffy's Story: A Tale of Humor and Heroism, Of Life and Death with the Fighting Sixty-Ninth. You can read it here on the Project Gutenberg website. If you would like to learn more about Fr Duffy and his life and times, you can have a look at these websites: 

1 2 3  - There are also a couple of short videos about his life here and here. 

The 69th Infantry Regiment of the New York Army National Guard (known as the Fighting 69th) has a long and storied past as it took part in many conflicts ranging from the American Civil War to the Mexican Border War, and from the First World War to the Second World War and on to Vietnam. You can find out more about the regiment here and here.

 

Photograph of Fr Duffy's gravestone in the form of a Celtic cross in Old Saint Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx. Image source.

PhD Viva - 19 April 2024

Thank you to everyone who was involved with my PhD Viva today in University College Cork (UCC). I passed with minor corrections (which is a common outcome). 

Thank you to my supervisors (past and present) - Prof Grace Neville, Prof Dónal Hassett (Maynooth University) and Dr Donal Ó Drisceoil (UCC). Thank you also to the examiners - Dr Eamon Maher (TU Dublin) and Dr Kate Hodgson (UCC) who were thorough in their questioning and gave praise where it was due. Lastly, thanks to the independent Chair - Dr Aodh Quinlivan (UCC), for ensuring that it ran smoothly. 

 

Photograph following the Viva in UCC.

Magazine article - In Flanders Fields Museum (Friends Magazine)

A magazine arrived in the post today. It came from Ieper in Belgium and was sent by the In Flanders Fields Museum. It's the magazine of the Friends of the In Flanders Fields Museum and contains articles about the work of the museum and the history of the First World War. 

One of the articles was written by me! After completing a three week research visit to the museum in September 2023, I was asked to write about the research I carried out with another student from Ireland. The visit was organised in conjunction with the Irish embassy in Brussels and involved researching information on Irish men who fought in the First World War.

Magazine of the Friends of the In Flanders Fields museum.

 

Article in the Friends magazine.

My article (originally written in English) was translated into Dutch and published with photographs taken during our research visit to the museum, Commonwealth War Graves Commission graveyards and the Irish embassy in Brussels. I have such good memories from the visit to Ieper. Thanks again to Annick Vandenbilcke and all the team in the museum for all they did during the visit.

RTÉ Brainstorm article - French linguist Marie-Louise Sjoestedt in Ireland

The French linguist and Celtic scholar Marie-Louise Sjoestedt (1900-1940) visited Ireland many times during the 1920s and 1930s. She studied the Irish language at universities in France and Ireland and lived with native speakers in Ireland to better understand it. She lectured about Irish in France and Ireland and also wrote books and academic articles about it.

 

Photograph of Marie-Louise Sjoestedt. Image source.

 

One of the first times I came across her was at an AFIS (Association of Franco-Irish Studies) conference in Mary Immaculate College in Limerick when a lectured from the Irish department there gave a paper about her links to the Irish language. 

 

I thought that her story was an interesting one and decided to look into it a little further. I did some research and have just written a short article on the RTÉ Brainstorm website about Sjoestedt's connection to Ireland, the Irish language and Celtic mythology. Read it here. 

Monk Gibbon - an Irish Diary

William Monk Gibbon (1896-1987) was a poet and writer who used experiences from his life in his writing. Aside from his autobiographical writing, he wrote everything from travel books and literary criticism to books on ballet. I have just written an Irish Diary about his life and times in the Irish Times newspaper. Read it here.

If you would like to hear what he spoke like, there is an interview with Gibbon from 1971 on the RTÉ Archives website. You can watch it here.

 

Photograph of Monk Gibbon. Image source.

An Irish Diary on the Saga ship (shipwreck off Cork coast 1895)

Almost 130 years ago, a Swedish merchant ship got into difficulty when sailing from Europe to South America. After losing its rudder in a storm in the English Channel, it came aground in Cork in the south of Ireland in February 1895. I have just written an Irish Diary about the ship known as the Saga in the Irish Times newspaper. Read it here.

 

Drawing of the Saga. Image source.

The story of what happened to the Saga and its Swedish crew was not fully known until recent years when the ship's anchor was recovered and some investigation was done into what happened. The anchor is now on display at Ballybrannigan beach in East Cork close to where the ship ran aground.  

Beside the anchor on the beach is an information board in English and Irish telling the story of what happened the Saga. Included on the board is a list of the crew that were on board when it ran into difficulty after being battered by the storm in the English Channel. 

This is a list of the crew that were on board the Saga. This information was obtained from the Oskarshamnssjöfart website. 

• Kapten [Captain] Lorentz Peter Sjöstrand, född [born] 1856 i Ålem
• Styrman [Mate] Johan Martin Hansson, född 1864 [born] i Falsterbo
• Konstapel [Constable] Frans Oskar Karlsson, född [born] 1870 i Mönsterås
• Matros [Able seaman] Karl Viktor Johansson, född [born] 1869 i Mönsterås
• Lättmatros [Seaman] Klas Viktor Danielsson, född [born] 1873 i Fliseryd
• Lättmatros [Seaman] Uno Rudolf Johansson, född [born] 1874 i Fliseryd
• Lättmatros [Seaman] Per Oskar Leonard Svensson, född [born] 1877 i Ryssby
• Jungman [Deckhand] Josef Edvin Gottfrid Gustafsson, född [born] 1878 i Häreda
• Kock [Cook] Ernst Herman Pettersson, född [born] 1876 i Oskarshamn

 

Anchor from the Saga at the carpark at Ballybrannigan beach, Cork, Ireland.

The boy mayor - An Irish Diary on James K. McGuire

James Kennedy McGuire (1868-1923) was an American politician who was only in his 20s when elected Mayor of Syracuse, a city in New York State. He was given the nickname of the 'boy mayor' when elected to that office in 1895. I have just written a newspaper article for the Irish Times on the boy mayor. Read it here.

 

Photograph of James Kennedy McGuire (1868-1923). Image source.

Several books have been written in America about McGuire including James K. McGuire: Boy Mayor and Irish Nationalist by Joseph Fahey and The Political Lives of James K. McGuire by Daniel Schultz. There has not been much written about McGuire in Ireland but perhaps that could change.

Due to his Irish ancestry (his father was born in Enniskillen), McGuire took an interest in Irish affairs. As I mention in my newspaper article, he was a member of many Irish fraternal associations and clubs in America. He also tried to help Irish people who visited America to spread information about the cause of Irish freedom. One of those he met there and got to know was Diarmuid Fawsitt (1884-1967) who was sent to America as Consul of the Irish Republic. I was pleased to see that a grand-daughter of Fawsitt's read my article and wrote to the newspaper about Fawsitt's relationship with McGuire. You can read the letter here and you can find out more about Fawsitt in his entry in the Dictionary of Irish Biography.