Frederick Douglass visited Ireland in the decades before the American Civil War, where he met Daniel O'Connell, Ireland's nationalist leader and a vocal critic of slavery. “I am the friend of liberty in every clime, class and colour. My sympathy with distress is not confined within the narrow bounds of my own green island. No — it extends itself to every corner of the earth," O'Connell said at a meeting of his Repeal Association that Douglass attended in September 1845. Here's a look at how his words influenced Douglass's activism: "Agitate, agitate, agitate."
A rare intact lead doll from the 16th or 17th century has been discovered by mudlarking metal detectorist Sarah Brackstone in Long Whatton, in Leicestershire. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/70440
Mystery as 1,600-year-old ancient Irish stone unearthed in English garden
“The 1,600-year-old stone, which is inscribed with an Irish language from the 4th century AD, was unearthed by a geography teacher in Coventry, West Midlands, in 2020.”
"The ultimate goal, I suggest, was a translatio imperii; the establishment of an imperial monarchy in the west that could rival the Habsburg empire, and which in time, perhaps, might even come to imitate the universal glory of the Roman imperium. Not the American Atlantic seaboard, but rather the continent of Europe, with its arms, its learning, and its treasure, was the goal of Bacon’s early imperial vision."
#Image attribution: Yale Center for British Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Page URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anonymous_-_Sir_Francis_Bacon,_1st_Viscount_St_Alban_-_B1977.14.9772_-_Yale_Center_for_British_Art.jpg
Great Irish Famine historians issue St. Patrick's Day statement on Gaza (IrishCentral, 2024-03-15)
"As historians of the Irish Famine, we are conscious of the horrific effects of mass starvation, including the trauma it leaves in its wake. ... we are alarmed at its imminence in Gaza, and are strongly urging here that every possible step be taken to prevent it.
"As a descendant of Great Famine survivors himself, and with the capacity to influence the situation, President Biden carries a particular responsibility..."
"More than with most famines, this is an avoidable catastrophe. With its restrictions on the distribution of food aid, water, and medical supplies, Israel is manifestly causing famine as it wages war. In this, it is facilitated by the United States, which continues to arm Israel and give it political cover through the use of its veto at the UN Security Council."
Great Irish Famine historians issue St. Patrick's Day statement on Gaza (IrishCentral, 2024-03-15)
"As historians of the Irish Famine, we are conscious of the horrific effects of mass starvation, including the trauma it leaves in its wake. ... we are alarmed at its imminence in Gaza, and are strongly urging here that every possible step be taken to prevent it.
"As a descendant of Great Famine survivors himself, and with the capacity to influence the situation, President Biden carries a particular responsibility..."
"More than with most famines, this is an avoidable catastrophe. With its restrictions on the distribution of food aid, water, and medical supplies, Israel is manifestly causing famine as it wages war. In this, it is facilitated by the United States, which continues to arm Israel and give it political cover through the use of its veto at the UN Security Council.
And here is Part II of that exquisite, painstakingly researched video inquiry into the #history of the #druids. This one examines their massive impact on #Ireland.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce.
You are (per the title) a young man with an artistic bent, growing up in Ireland over a century ago, with dreams that are somewhat of a mismatch to your own and everyone you know’s rigid and unforgiving Catholicism; will you leave all family and friends behind?
3 of 5 library cats 🐈 🐈 🐈.
"An estimated 90,000 Kenyans were slaughtered in the Kikuyu uprising while just over a thousand were hanged on a portable gibbet. Some 160,000 were detained in internment camps where torture was routine.
"One of Britain’s victims was US President Barack Obama’s paternal grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama, who was arrested in 1949, and tortured by having pins inserted under his fingernails."
Kitson brought to Belfast his experiences in Kenya, fighting the Kikuyu Land and Freedom Army (exotically dubbed the “Mau Mau” by the British) in the early 1950s where he honed a practice of using “turned” or “converted” rebels into “counter-gangs”.
"The battle of the Bogside was an important catalyst for change, triggering a determined British government intervention that ended the unionist monopoly on power. But it also marked the beginning of 30 years of violent conflict that would claim the lives of more than 3,600 people and bring untold suffering."
#OnThisDay in #history - in 1649, Charles I of #England#Scotland and #Ireland was executed just outside the Banqueting House, London. It was a chilly day and he wore an extra shirt so he wouldn't shiver (worried the gathered people would think he was afraid instead of cold). The axe man took his head in one blow.
Unpopular as an adult, Charles was never meant to be king - he only was 11 when his older brother Henry died, making Charles the heir rather than the spare. #OTD#histodons@histodons
#NLI buys Bonar Law collection of historic maps https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22343003/#Maps#IrishHistory Audrey Whitty, Director of the National Library of Ireland, talks to RTE about the acquisition of 19,000 maps and prints of Ireland going back to the 16th century.
@IrishStudiesQUB First question asked in the interview was my first question:
'Any connection to the early 20th c UK prime minister, who was an opponent of home rule?'
Answer given was not entirely clear, but collection is named not for the UK prime minister per se, but rather for the collector, who happens to be the prime minister's 90-year-old grandson and namesake.
Today is the #Epiphany, the end of the #TwelveDaysOfChristmas.¹
In #Ireland, though, this day is also known as Nollaig na mBan, a.k.a. Little Christmas.²
It is hard to find a root of this tradition, but it is a feast dedicate to #women: they take a break from all the work of the past days, and they can celebrate as they wish. 🎉
Beware of other traditions, though, as removing all the Christmas tree decorations before the end of the day, or there will be bad luck! 🚫🍀
But don't forget to keep the #Christmas holly! It is good to use it for the fire to cook pancake on Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras³, the day before #Lent!
Four Courts Press and the Friends of Medieval Dublin are sponsoring a book launch tonight (5 December) for the volume Medieval Dublin XIX, edited by Seán Duffy, professor of medieval history at TCD, at 6 pm at City Assembly House, 58 South William Street, Dublin 2. Find out more about the essays in the volume by clicking the link.
Paul Lynch's #BookerPrize winning Prophet Song (2023) warns us about the precariousness of liberal society. The mother's relentless interior monologue explores how we might react as a society breaks down from authoritarian rule to civil war & eventual #migration of victims. While one might argue that this is a developing country story reset in #Ireland merely to enhance Anglo-saxon empathy, this resetting is what emphasises its warning @bookstodon
Irish writer Paul Lynch won the 2023 Booker prize for his dystopian novel, "Prophet Song." Two of his compatriots were on the shortlist and another two made the long list. For @TheConversationUS Orlaith Darling, a Ph.D. candidate at Trinity College Dublin, examines the "golden age" of Irish writing.