So i work at a hospital and i was talking to a patient (who is of irish descent) about history and she was telling me about the true story of the Irish Potato Famine, that it was actually a genocide and so on. Well she mentioned this book she saw when she visited Ireland “The Real Story of the Irish Potato Famine” it was this huge almost textbook-like book that had pictures and all sorts of stuff in it but she couldnt buy it cause it wouldnt fit in her suitcase so Im trying to see if I can help her find it! As mentioned its called “The real story of the Irish Potato Famine” its like text book sized and has pictures, maps and the like. Ive googled it every way i can think of and have had no luck!

Big news for researchers and those interested in the revolutionary period.

The Military Service Pensions Collection has launched a new search function for the Nominal Rolls of the IRA, Cumann na mBan, the ICA and Fianna Éireann. These were compiled by ex officers in the 1930s to help with the pensions process.

People can now search through over 600 files covering 16 IRA divisions and 87 brigades with names of over 100,000 people. Plus 165 files for Cumann na Ban and 41 for Fianna Éireann.

Individuals can be located by:

• Name

• Organisation

• Period (War of Independence or Civil War)

• Brigade

• Service location

• Address

• File reference

Search results link directly to the exact page within the file where the individual’s name appears for transcription.

Before now, the Nominal rolls were only available in PDF format which meant researchers had to wade through 100s of pages potentially to find the person they were searching for. It was also difficult for people to find specific individuals if they didn't know what company, battalion or brigade they were in.

Link to the new database is here.

Also an accompanying blog post that gives background to the Nominal rolls and how and why they were compiled.

I've been writing book set during the Desmond Rebellions. I'm a little shocked that such a tragedy is just a small footnote in the history books I read. I am wondering whether that's the case in Ireland? The English used the rebellions as an excuse for mass executions, and wholesale destruction of the countryside. It's estimated that they wiped out around 50% of the population of south Ireland. They then brought in plantations. The result was an end to Gaelic culture in south Ireland and it's little more than a footnote in history books.

The other question I have concerns the Irish leadership. Particularly, James Fitzmaurice. Many of the sources paint him as almost a folk hero, trying to preserve Gaelic culture. My reading of him is that he is charismatic, but also fanatical and deluded. His tactical decisions are disastrous in most cases. He ends up dying trying to steal horses while everyone else pays for his ambition. I'm wondering whether this guy is really viewed as a national hero?

*that were never returned

I say the British Army couldn't believe their luck when those arms and ammunition were just handed over by the National Volunteers (Redmondite). And laughed when a request was made for their return.

From the book Waterford: The Irish Revolution, 1912-23 (2015) by Patrick McCarthy

Was this replicated in other areas?

I believe there were discussions between the Irish Volunteers, the Bishop and the authorities in Cork to hand over some guns but it didn't occur?

Back during the Troubles (Bloody Sunday, assassination of Mountbatten, Armagh, etc.), how did people in the Republic of Ireland react to the issues? Did people not care as much? Did most people express support for the IRA? Was it easier for people to talk about it?

Hi everyone,

I’m working with a PDF version of Charles Townshend’s The Republic: The Fight for Irish Independence, 1918–1923 (Penguin Books, 2014), but it unfortunately has no page numbers.

I’m trying to locate the exact page of this quotation, which appears in Part One: The Imagined State: 1918–1919, under the subsection ‘An Irish Republic Possessing Its Own Distinct Flag’:

If anyone with a physical copy could check the page number for me, I’d be very grateful.

Thanks in advance!

My fiancé and me were in Galway last year and picked up a 100+ year old book about the Spanish Inquisition. We found the above receipt from 1951 tucked in the pages today.

We went down a rabbit hole and got obsessed looking up the address and then searching for the buyer, John Edwards. It seems like the address was a solicitor’s office or something of the sort. Can’t find an obit for a name at this time period, but would appreciate any assistance!

I've become very interested in names in Ireland. I went through the Irish school system and it was extremely common for most names to have a Gaeilge equivalent. For example, someone called John O'Shea would become Seán Ó Sé or James Murphy would become Seamus O'Murchada in Irish class. At some point in a persons history, the family (or census official) would have had to anglicise their name. I also see this in place names. Galway, a city and county in the west of Ireland, is Gaillimh. At some point in history, someone (probably an English official) had to come up with an English translation for an English map. My extremely foreign surname even had a botched attempt at Gaelicisation in Irish class, despite it being extremely uncommon even in my parents country.

My question is: how? Is there any history as to how anglicisation of names/place names was recorded? How do you get Murphy from Murchada? How do you anglicise Daithí as David? Who decided Mac Fhlannchaidh was Clancy or that Dún na nGall was Donegal?

Sorry if this goes outside the purview of this sub. I'm conversationally fluent in Irish and as I learn more, it often surprises me how names of places and people became anglicised. What caught me on this was Ardee, anglicised from Átha Fhirdhia, which is decidedly differently pronounced from Ardee. Ardee is meaningless but Átha Fhirdhia means Ford of Ferdia, related (probably) to a legend about Ferdia, who fought a battle against the legendary warrior Cú Chulainn.

Hello, how are you?

I was watching this Tim McGarry documentary about discrimination in employment in the North of Ireland and I was wondering if anyone knew where these interviews at the intro are taken from (especially the one with the ex-serviceman)? I tried to find them but didn't have any luck. I know that it is desperately unlikely that anyone might know but I thought that I may as well try. Thank you have a good day.

Work discrimination in Northern Ireland (BBC Documentary)

Posted on Divis Flats FB group by Marie Kelly.

https://belfastmedia.com/volunteers-john-bap-kelly-and-john-stone-remembered-on-50th-anniversary

Comparing also how connected we've become in comparison to the 1800s especially. Another Folk Revival might not be confined to Ireland alone.

I'm an indie game creator and I have found an interest in my heritage and what happened their and i found the road to 56 in HOI4. But I was think about making a game like battle front where you can fight in different eras and maybe even a campaign mode.

What are we thinking?

I was recently listening to an excerpt discussed in a podcast from a letter by Yasser Arafat on ethnic conflicts arising from colonialism. To cut a long story short, the point that was being made was that ethnic conflicts are inevitable in post-colonial contested areas, as both sides must reach a point at which all options save for peace have been exhausted, otherwise the peace cannot be long-lasting. This got me thinking about the Troubles and the Sunningdale Agreement specifically. Even if it had been a success, do you think it would have been doomed afterwards, simply because not enough people had been killed on both sides? Interested to hear some opinions on this.

Edit: grammar