Book Launch - Dublin 6 October 2026

Please join us to launch Freedom of Speech in the Press in Times of Conflict: Historical Perspectives from Ireland and Europe in the Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI), 86 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2 at 6pm on Tuesday 6 October 2026.

Edited by Prof Richard C. Allen, Felix M. Larkin, Dr Oliver O'Hanlon and Prof Aoife Whelan, the book will be launched by the historian and broadcaster Dr David McCullagh.

The book came about following a conference organised by the Newspaper and Periodical History Forum of Ireland (NPHFI). The book's table of contents is reproduced below and you can order a copy of the book on the publisher's (Peter Lang) website. It is the latest in Peter Lang's series on Studies in Franco-Irish Relations. Thanks to Eamon Maher (Series Editor) and Anthony Mason (Peter Lang) for their assistance during the publishing process.

Register here to attend the book launch on Tuesday 6 October at 6pm.

Irish Diary on disappearance of Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt 1967

The Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt (1908-1967) went swimming at a secluded beach in Victoria in December 1967. He was never seen again. Read my Irish Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about the disappearance of Harold Holt.

Photograph of Harold Holt swimming. Image source.

Holt enjoyed swimming and snorkeling. His disappearance was a shock to his fellow countrymen and women and led to a whole range of conspiracy theories (which probably developed further as his body was never recovered despite an extensive search operation). 

At the time of his disappearance, Holt was an experienced politician who was seeking to develop Australia's relationships with other countries in the region and further afield. As a senior minister in Sir Robert Menzies' governments from 1949, he frequently visited London, New York and Washington for meetings of the Commonwealth and international organisations like the World Bank. 

Holt supported sending Australian troops to Vietnam during the Vietnam War and used the slogan "All the way with LBJ" when visiting the White House in June 1966 to show his support of the US President Lyndon Baines Johnson and his approach to the War. You can find out more about Holt's time in office in this resume on the National Archives of Australia website.

Irish Press, 21 October 1966.

Maureen O'Sullivan - Irish-born SOE agent in France in WW2, RTÉ Brainstorm article

Maureen Patricia (Paddy) O'Sullivan (1918-1994) was a courageous Irish-born woman who played an important role in France during the Second World War. I have just written a short piece about her for the RTÉ Brainstorm website. Read it here.

Photograph of Maureen O'Sullivan on front cover of Clodagh Finn's book The Irish in the Resistance.

Maureen was one of many people who worked for the top secret wartime organisation set up by the British to help those living under German occupation during the War - the Special Operations Executive (SOE). She was sent to France during the War to operate a wireless which would transmit messages back to London. It was important to have up to date intelligence about German troop movements etc. in order to plan for D-Day and the Liberation of France. She also trained locals to operate the wireless. 

Clodagh Finn and John Morgan's book The Irish in the Resistance covers the work of Maureen and several other Irish people who were active in the Resistance during the War. I want to thank to Clodagh for her advice when I was writing the RTÉ Brainstorm piece.

Ireland and the Tour de France piece on RTÉ Brainstorm

You will have heard of the Tour de France, I'm sure! The annual road cycling race that runs through France has been drawing spectators since it began in 1903. I just wrote about some of the Irish cyclists who took part in this mythic race over the years for the RTÉ Brainstorm website. Read it here.

Cyclists in the Tour de France in July 1923. Image source.

Dublin-born Seamus (Shay) Elliott was the first Irishman to compete in the Tour de France. That was 70 years ago in 1956 and since then, many Irishmen and some Irishwomen have taken part in the Tour. One Irishman even won the race - that was Stephen Roche in 1987. I watched the Champs-Elysées stage in person a few times. The crowds can be big and the cyclists go so fast that it is hard to see anything but the atmosphere is quite special. 

The women's Tour race has been run in various forms since around 1955 and the latest iteration began in 2022. Let's hope that it and the men's race continue to be enjoyed by spectators for years to come. 

Radio interview with Seán Moncrieff

On Bastille Day 2026, I spoke with Seán Moncrieff on his Newstalk radio show about Samuel Beckett and Mary Elmes. These are just two of the Irish people who put themselves in danger in France during World War Two when they helped the French people by being in the Resistance (Beckett) or by providing needed humanitarian assistance (Elmes). You can listen back to the interview here.

In the Newstalk studio with Seán Moncrieff on 14 July 2026. 

Thanks to Seán for the invite and to Simon Tierney of Newstalk who helped arrange it. I am looking forward to the next interview.

 

Irish in France in WW2 - RTÉ Brainstorm article

For Bastille Day this year, I thought I'd write something about the Irish who gave assistance to France during the Second World War. Some of those who risked their lives as volunteers in the Resistance are well known (like Samuel Beckett) or those who helped out through humanitarian initiatives (like Mary Elmes), but others will not be that familiar to you. Read it here on the RTÉ Brainstorm website.

Samuel Beckett. Image source.

The French Resistance carried out a range of activities including non-violent civil defiance and organised guerilla warfare. They ran underground newspapers and gathered intelligence. It is estimated that between 1 and 3% of the French people took part in the Resistance. Find out more about it here and here. 

Many of the Irish who took part in Resistance activity in France did so as members of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). This was an organisation set up in July 1940 at the instruction of Winston Churchill to help local resistance movements and carry out espionage and sabotage in enemy held territories. You can find out more about the SOE here. According to this article, only 39 women were selected to be part of the SOE Section F or French section. This article by David Murphy contains a good precis of the Irish were part of Section F.

One of those who helped by giving assistance and giving hope was Cork-born Mary Elmes (1908-2002), who carried out essential humanitarian work in France during the War. She helped set up and run refugee camps for people fleeing Franco's nationalist forces in Spain. She provided education for the children in the camps and helped hundreds of Jewish children avoid certain death at Auschwitz concentration camp. She is remembered in her native city with a new pedestrian bridge bearing her name.

Mary Elmes Bridge in Cork city.

Joyce everywhere - Szombathely and the Hungarian link to James Joyce's Ulysses

Bloomsday is celebrated all around the world on this day 16 June. It marks the day on which James Joyce's fictional character Leopold Bloom walked around the streets of Dublin in Joyce's novel Ulysses. I have just written about the link between Ulysses and the ancient Hungarian city of Szombathely. Read it here. 

In the novel, Joyce says that Leopold Bloom's father was a Jew and that he came from the ancient Hungarian city. Events have been held in Szombathely to mark this connection between Ireland and Hungary for the last number of years. You can learn more about the history of the events on this dedicated website. This year a mural inspired by an episode from the novel will be unveiled in the city. The chosen artist is James Earley and you can find out more about his work here.

 

Bronze Ulysses plaque on Dublin's Grafton Street. Part of the Joyce Trail.

In the Brainstorm piece, I mention the quote often attributed to Joyce whereby he is thought to have said that he believed that his work would keep professors busy for years tying to decipher all the puzzles and enigmas that it contained. This is believed to have come from a French translator of Joyce's work and it dates from the 1950s, many years after Joyce said it to the Frenchman. It was told to Joyce's biographer Richard Ellmann. As such, doubts are sometimes cast on whether it is accurate or maybe it was misremembered by the translator with the passage of time. Either way, it would be nice to think that Joyce did say it whether he did or not. Read more about the quote and the possible truth of it here. 

Book chapter published - Freedom of Speech in the Press in Times of Conflict

Delighted to say that I received a copy of the book Freedom of Speech in the Press in Times of Conflict: Historical Perspectives from Ireland and Europe (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2026), ed. by Richard C. Allen, Felix M. Larkin, Oliver O'Hanlon and Aoife Whelan. Details of this book are available on the publisher's website here.

 

Front cover of Freedom of Speech in the Press in Times of Conflict

My chapter (pp. 55-77) examines the work of Art O'Brien, who was the first Dáil's publicity man in London during the Irish War of Independence. He was responsible for disseminating the message of the 1st Dáil (whose term ran from January 1919 to August 1921) to the foreign press corps based in London and the outside world. He was in constant contact with the Dáil's Publicity Department in Dublin and the various heads of that Department.

The 1st Dáil met for the first time in Dublin's Mansion House before it was outlawed in September 1919. It had to meet in secret thereafter. As such, O'Brien had to be extremely careful when carrying out his mission. You can read more about O'Brien in his entry in the Dictionary of Irish Biography or if you want to go further, I would recommend the biography by Mary MacDiarmada Art O'Brien and Irish Nationalism in London, 1900-25.  

 

 

Table of contents.

As you can see from the table of contents reproduced above, the book covers a range of subjects in Ireland, France, Spain and Germany at different times of conflict. I am grateful to my fellow editors, Richard Allen, Felix Larkin and Aoife Whelan, and to the other contributors for all their hard work in bringing this volume to fruition

Andreas Strobl

Michael Foley

Claire Dubois

Claire Guerin

Alan McCarthy +

William Burton

Conor Campbell

Karine Deslandes 

+ Dr Alan McCarthy - sadly Alan did not live to see this volume in print. There is a tribute to Alan on the UCC School of History website, you can read it here. He was a great scholar and a really nice human being. He will be missed.
 

An Irish Diary about Goldenbridge Cemetery in Dublin

Goldenbridge Cemetery in Dublin's Inchicore is a nice place to visit. Much smaller in scale than the famed Glasnevin Cemetery on the northside, it was opened in October 1829 just after Catholic Emancipation was achieved in Ireland. Sometimes referred to as the first Catholic cemetery to be opened in Ireland since the Reformation, it is also referred to as Ireland's first non-denominational cemetery. Read my Irish Diary in today's Irish Times newspaper about the history of this cemetery. 

 

Entrance to Goldenbridge Cemetery. 

On my first visit to the cemetery in May 2026, I was struck by the uniformity of the place. It is not like more modern or larger Irish graveyards where you can find a vast range of gravestones (in terms of size and materials used). It is as if Goldenbridge is somehow frozen in time and has not changed since it was opened in the 19th century. It did close in 1869 but some new burials were allowed after that, including WT Cosgrave (1880-1965) and his son Liam Cosgrave (1920-2017). It is open again to new burials but they must conform to strict criteria laid down by the Dublin Cemeteries Trust (DCT), including a stipulation that no polished stone can be used. The DCT runs Goldenbridge and four other graveyards in Dublin - Glasnevin, Dardistown, Newlands Cross and Palmerstown. 

Some of the graves are enclosed by railings and there is some variation in terms of design - there are some gravestones in the form of Celtic Cross or obelisk or column. But a good few resemble the gravestone of the young boy I mentioned in the article that is located just inside the entrance (example below).

 

Example of gravestone found in Goldenbridge Cemetery Dublin.

The Luas Red Line tram passes the graveyard and you should remember to get off at the Drimnagh stop and not the Goldenbridge one as you might think. Richmond Barracks is close by and also deserves a visit for its rich history as a former military barracks and later as a school. The leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were court-martialed within the walls of the barracks and as this website shows, it has witnessed many historic events in its long life. 

RTÉ Brainstorm piece on No Mate for the Magpie book

The novel No Mate for the Magpie was written by Frances Molloy (real name Ann Brady née McGill) in 1985. I have just written a short article on RTÉ Brainstorm discussing this unusual book. Read it here.

 

Cover of No Mate for the Magpie (London: Virago, 1985)

The narrative, told in the first person, deals with growing up in Derry and other parts of Northern Ireland in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and the way that the tense political situation put a strain on people's lives. The story is told in a wry humorous way and the author uses details from her own biography to highlight the sectarian divide that existed at the time and to tell the tale of how the main character, Ann McGlone, faced discrimination because of her religion.  

I enjoyed the book for its humour and unusual writing style but it can be sad to read about the way that the main character was treated by others (including her neighbours and work colleagues) just because she was born into a different religion. It is now more than 40 years since No Mate for the Magpie was first published in 1985. Ruth Carr described it as "one of the most original fictional responses to the Troubles to come out of Northern Ireland".

Ann Brady was listed (as Frances Molloy) in an anthology of female writers from Northern Ireland in the 1980s. The title of the anthology is The Female Line: Northern Irish Women Writers (Belfast, 1985). It seems, therefore, that her work was appreciated and that good things were expected of her. 

Sadly, she died of a stroke in 1991 at age 44. With scholars such as Dr Laura Kennedy (University College Cork) and Dr Jennifer M. Jeffers (among others) taking an interest in Ann Brady's work in recent years, it is good to see that her work has not been forgotten. Dr Laura Kennedy organised an event in the Museum of Free Derry in November 2025 to mark the book's 40th anniversary. I think it was from Laura that I first heard about No Mate for the Magpie (thanks for that Laura!). Prof Jennifer Jeffers published a biography of Frances Molloy (Ann Brady) in 2025.

More Irish-themed covers of Le Petit Journal - Abbey Theatre Riot Feb 1926

I have previously written here about Irish-themed covers of the French illustrated periodical Le Petit Journal illustré. Another one to add to the list was published on this day (28 February) in 1926. It concerns the Abbey Theatre riot that took place in the Abbey Theatre in Dublin on 11 February 1926 when some audience members reacted angrily to a staging of Seán O'Casey's play The Plough and the Stars. You can find out more about the incident here.

 

Back cover of Le Petit Journal 28 February 1926. Image source. 

 

Page 2, Le Petit Journal 28 February 1926. Image source.  

The illustration of the riot was accompanied by a short description of what happened on the night. It was, according to the newspaper, 'something that could only take place in Ireland'. 'Things came to blows and the women grabbed each other's hair', it went on. 

W.B. Yeats tried in vain to separate the fighters and address the crowd but his efforts failed. The theatre was eventually cleared and closed. According to the newspaper, 'with the tenacity that marks the Celtic race, the directors of the Abbey and their actors claim that they will go on staging the play as they had planned'. 

WW1 Memorial Cross in Ieper/Ypres Belgium - RTÉ Brainstorm article

A tall stone Celtic Cross in the Belgian city of Ieper (Ypres) commemorates men from Cork in Ireland who died there during the First World War. I have just written a short article about the history of the cross for the RTÉ Brainstorm website. Read it here.

 

Photograph of the memorial with the cathedral in the background.

Ieper, known as Ypres during the War, was held by the forces of the Allied Powers right throughout the War. The cost of holding this strategic location was high for the Allies as well as the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire). Many hundreds of thousands died during the Three Battles of Ypres in 1914, 1915 and 1917.  

 

Photograph of the memorial showing a carving to represent the crest of Munster (three crowns) with some Celtic knot motif on the bottom.

After the War, Ieper was seen as 'holy ground' by ex-servicemen on account of all the lives lost there during the War and the near utter destruction of the town. I have previously written about the destruction and rebuilding of the town here. The memorial cross was unveiled in 1924 and by that stage, Ireland had gained its independence from Britain. 

The sacrifice of the Irishmen who fought in the British army during the War was remembered by their family and the community they came from. However, with independence came a fresh perspective on the Irish who fought and died during the War. 

 

Photograph showing the detailed carving of the Celtic motif on the shaft of the cross.

This article by Fionnuala Walsh on the 1914-1918 Online Encyclopedia covers how the attitude of Irish people to the War evolved over the years. This article by Edward Madigan deals with how the centenary of the War was marked in Ireland and how this provided a chance to look back on that period with a more objective outlook. The renewed interest in the story of the Irishmen who fought in the War that was prompted by events such as the Decade of Centenaries can be seen in the renewed links between Cork City Council and Ieper City Council that I mention in the Brainstorm piece. 

RTÉ Brainstorm piece on Le Goncourt des détenus

In France a literary prize is decided by prison inmates. It is called 'Le Goncourt des détenus' and I have just written a piece about it for the RTÉ Brainstorm website. Read it here.

 

The prize is similar to the regular Prix Goncourt literary award that has been awarded to the "best and most imaginative prose work of the year" but what makes this one unique is that it is prison inmates from 45 French centers of detention who read the books on the shortlist and decide who should receive the award. Find out more about it here.

Welsh newspapers online - Free resource

The National Library of Wales has digitised millions of articles from the its collection of historic newspapers. 15 million Welsh newspaper articles in English and Welsh are now available to view online for free. You can access the catalogue here.

 

Screenshot of the website for information. 

Through the search boxes, you can also specify if you want to search for cartoons, graphs, illustrations, maps and photographs. Below are some examples of the editorial cartoons you can find on the website.

 

'Leaving for the Gilded Chamber', The Cambria Daily Leader, 19 May 1914. Source.

 

'The Wash Outs', Abergavenny Chronicle, 16 November 1918. Source.

Visit to Cork Public Museum with a class

I am teaching an undergraduate module on 'France and the Great War' at the moment. It is a classroom based module but I thought it could be helpful for the students to look outside of the classroom for an alternative for one of our seminars - so I contacted the Cork Public Museum. 

The responsive to my initial approach to the museum was very positive and as a result of their work, we had a successful visit. It is great to actually see and feel items from that period (or authentic replicas) instead of just reading about them. 

 

Photograph of Cork Public Museum in Fitzgerald's Park. 

Thanks to the curator Mr Daniel Breen and education officer Ms Jessica Cull for welcoming us to the museum and presenting relevant items that they took out from storage for us.

 

Frederick Douglass in Ireland 180 years ago - An Irish Diary

Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) was born into slavery in America. He managed to escape and spent the rest of his life telling his story and campaigning for an end to slavery. He visited Ireland in 1845 to spread the word. I have just written an Irish Diary about his time in Ireland in the Irish Times newspaper. Read it here.

 

Mural of Frederick Douglass in Cork.

Douglass wrote his autobiography in 1845 and this caused quite the sensation - so much so that he thought it might be best to get away for a while. He toured Ireland on a speaking tour in the Autumn of 1845, visiting Kildare, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Belfast, Wexford and Waterford. He was positively received wherever he went. This surprised him as he was used to being treated differently in the United States on account of his skin colour. 

He also visited England, Scotland and Wales in 1845. There is a map here of all the towns where he spoke from Exeter in the south of England to Wrexham in northeast Wales and Aberdeen in Scotland. 

 

RTÉ Brainstorm piece on the Sacré-Coeur basilica in Paris

Many visitors to Paris will have seen the Sacré-Coeur Basilica on the butte of Montmartre. Some will have traveled there and walked up the steps to see the city stretch out below them. Some will even have entered the church but many do not know the history the building which has eared a place in almost every guidebook to Paris. I have just written a piece on the RTÉ Brainstorm website on the history of the basilica. Read it here. 

 

As I mention in the article, controversy has surrounded the building from the beginning. For some it has come to be seen as a "key monument of modern French Catholicism" and for others, it is a symbol of the influence of the Catholic Church in state affairs.  

According to Martin Evans and Emmanuel Godin, the "Sacré-Coeur served the symbolic purpose of asking for forgiveness for the sins of the atheist Commune. However, for Republicans it came to stand for the worst excesses of clerical domination". [France Since 1815, (London: Routledge, p. 65)].

On a recent visit to Paris, I was able to see the crypt, which is not normally open to all visitors. It was amazing to see the size of the crypt with its windows, high ceilings and many altars. Architecturally, the Sacré-Coeur is a stunning example of a craftsmanship. Engineering-wise, it is an example of what can be done in a challenging location. Below is a photograph of the crypt.

 Have you ever visited the Sacré-Coeur basilica?

An Irish Diary on Irish language enthusiast Liam Ó Briain (1888-1974)

Can you learn a language from a primer or grammar book? Well apparently that is what Liam Ó Briain (1888-1974) did when he learned Irish by himself as it was not taught in his school in Dublin when he was growing up. I have just written an Irish Diary in the Irish Times about Prof Ó Briain who was an Irish language enthusiast (and Francophile). Read it here.

 

 Photograph of Liam Ó Briain. Image source.

Ó Briain was involved with the founding of An Taibhdhearc - the national Irish language theatre, in the 1920s. He was also involved with An Club Leabhar, an initiative that sought to get people reading Irish books as a way to promote the language. I was not able to find much information on this club but there are references in various newspapers to meetings of Irish language book clubs happening in universities. I wonder how widespread it was around the country and what the take-up was like among ordinary citizens!

 

Liam Ó Briain's grave stone in Glasnevin cemetery, Dublin.

If you would like to find out more about Liam Ó Briain - this is his entry in the Dictionary of Irish Biography, there is a good lot of information on him (in Irish) on the Ainm.ie website and there is an interesting blog post here from Dublin City Libraries. 

Radio interview based on article on Irish restaurant in Paris - La Ferme Irlandsaise

I recently did a short radio interview with MJ Clery on the programme 'Country Life' on Midlands 103 about the RTÉ Brainstorm article I wrote on the Irish restaurant in Paris known as La Ferme Irlandaise. You can listen back to the interview here. 

 

It's great to see that there is an interest in this relatively unknown chapter in Irish food history and Franco-Irish relations. Thanks to MJ Clery for the invite to take about my research on the show. 

RTÉ Brainstorm piece on La Ferme Irlandaise Irish Restaurant in Paris

La Ferme Irlandaise was an Irish restaurant in the heart of Paris. It served Irish food and the staff who were there were Irish. I have just written a short article on RTÉ Brainstorm about the restaurant. Read it here.

 

Newspaper photograph of the opening of the restaurant showing the Minister for External Affairs Michael O'Kennedy (third from right). 

The restaurant was the brainchild of Paddy O'Keeffe who was Chairman of investment cooperative Farmers' Business Developments (FBD) and editor of the Irish Farmers' Journal. Myrtle Allen of Ballymaloe Restaurant acted as an advisor for the restaurant. The classically-trained chef Peter Robinson ran the restaurant for the first couple of years from its opening in November 1979 until 1981.

It was then taken over by Myrtle Allen who sent staff from Ballymaloe to run the restaurant in Paris. She traveled over to the restaurant every few weeks to make sure that it was running smoothly. The decor and menu changed when she took over and it became even more 'Irish' than it had been. 

The new menu included a full Irish breakfast of sausages, bacon and eggs, which was very popular with the customers. They also served dishes such as Shangarry beef and Guinness pie and Irish lamb with mint and butter sauce. The Allens ceased to be involved in La ferme irlandaise in 1985 and the restaurant closed in 1987. It remains one of the most novel and interesting showcases for Irish food and Irish cooking on the continent in recent times.

Thanks to Bryan Barry of FBD and John McCullen for providing information on the history of the restaurant.