History

I’m in a cottage by Coney Island, looking out at a relentless and grey Irish sea. I’ve come here to the natural fringe of the island to try and process what has been the strangest of years. The beach is a mere ten metres away across a…

In 1847, the Choctaw Nation sent the equivalent of €4,000 of aid to Ireland for Famine relief. One hundred and seventy one years later, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar visited Oklahoma to thank the Choctaw people and announce the…

If you stood on Henry Street with a big smile and asked a hundred Dubliners who it was named after, it’s unlikely you’d get a single correct answer. If you walked into a history tutorial in one of the city’s finest universities and asked…

In 1918 a campaign song was written by an anonymous author for the General Election of that year. 'The Sinn Feiners Election Song' appeared on a ballad sheet which sold for a penny on the streets of Dublin. With the same air as 'The Boys of…

Words To That Effect is back! Words To That Effect Season 4 kicks off next Tuesday, 15th October. In the meantime, you can have a listen to what's in store in the trailer below. See you on the 15th! Listen to all the…

I stand above the ocean at Sky Road’s summit and look out over the islands, where folktales say mermaids sit and sing and comb their hair. A group of French tourists laugh amongst themselves. There’s the smell of saltwater and faraway…

We are told that sweets and chocolates are bad for us, and should be eaten in small amounts, if at all. However, during a terrifying wartime winter, a delivery of Tootsie Rolls proved to be a lifesaver. Tootsie Rolls are bite-size…

“Everything for everyone, nothing for us” – Subcomandant Marcos. The explosive growth of civil society in recent years has led to the rise of certain groups who have showed the world that real alternative is possible and certainly within…

Looking for something to do this weekend? Here's over 30 events you can attend for free as part of the Culture Date with Dublin 8 Festival. The festival runs from Saturday 18th to Sunday 19th of May. Now in it's third year, Culture Date…

Sunlight danced on the waves as they dashed themselves against the shores of Dog’s Bay. I sat on a hill looking out to sea. The Atlantic stretched away from me unbroken and smooth like black glass until it touched the sky at the horizon.…