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History and Heritage

Thu 28 Nov, 09:53

Review of the film Missing Children, on the Tuam Children’s Home Dec 05 13:22 by Brian Nugent 0 comments

A major film was released about the Tuam Children’s Home recently, a joint production by RTE, the Irish State Television station obviously, and ITV in the UK. It was extraordinarily harsh in describing this institution, others like it and indeed Ireland in general for those years of the 1920s-50s. In this writer’s opinion, it left a lot to be desired in its accuracy in reference to this Home and this article is an attempt to set the record straight. The first and most important issue of course is the question of whether or not the bodies of children were laid to rest in a disused septic tank, for which see the accompanying diagram and description here, followed by the other great issue, that of the mortality rate in these Homes.

Review of the film Missing Children, on the Tuam Children’s Home Dec 05 01:50 by Brian Nugent 0 comments

A major film was released about the Tuam Children’s Home recently, a joint production by RTE, the Irish State Television station obviously, and ITV in the UK. It was extraordinarily harsh in describing this institution, others like it and indeed Ireland in general for those years of the 1920s-50s. In this writer’s opinion, it left a lot to be desired in its accuracy in reference to this Home and this article is an attempt to set the record straight. The first and most important issue of course is the question of whether or not the bodies of children were laid to rest in a disused septic tank, for which see the accompanying diagram and description here, followed by the other great issue, that of the mortality rate in these Homes.

Religion and Spirituality under Attack. Apr 15 22:58 by T 9 comments

There is no doubt about it that religion and spirituality are under attack and the pressure has been massively increased on the back of the Covid Scamdemic.

The level of suppression and repression now in force against the church has not been seen here for centuries. The irony is that the church hierarchy are largely going along with it. The attack on spirituality is a bit harder to discern but it is there and part of the wider trend. Overall what appears to be going on is the corporate takeover of society and that is the new religion and it is intolerant of any other belief systems. This is a characteristic of all totalitarian systems. They want you to transfer any beliefs you have to them. During the worst periods of the USSR we saw churches burned or closed down and all religious practice suppressed. Similar things happened during the Chinese cultural revolution. What it represents is a demand to turn towards the reigning power and an insistence that this is the only belief system. What the socialist revolution was promising was salvation through socialist organisation of society and by directing the productive forces to the benefit of all peoples, in effect creating heaven on Earth. It didn't quite turn out that way for various reasons. Now the corporate regime is trying the same without the promises.

Redrawing the Cultural Cityscape: Jun 18 17:19 by Caoimhghin Ó Croidheáin 0 comments

"Symbols are what unite and divide people. Symbols give us our identity, our self-image,our way of explaining ourselves to others. Symbols in turn determine the kinds of stories we tell; and the stories we tell determine the kind of history we make and remake."
Mary Robinson, Inauguration speech as President of Ireland, December 3, 1990

Introduction

On the night of the 8 March 1966 a massive explosion was heard in the centre of Dublin and Nelson's Pillar came crashing to the ground in hundreds of tons of rubble. No one was hurt and a stump was all that could be seen of the 157 year old monument. It was not the first time that monuments had been attacked in Ireland and certainly not the last, at least figuratively, with a series of later monuments accruing many derogatory nicknames from the Dublin people.

The recent spate of attacks on monuments in the US and the Uk has opened up the debate on the cultural issues they provoke, ranging from those who can't believe the attacks hadn't happened sooner to those who see their destruction as mob vandalism.

8th May in Germany May 11 22:33 by Kollektiv.26 - Autonomous Group Ulm 0 comments

May 8th is the day of liberation for many of those suffering Nazi persecution. What is still missing today is denazification, coming to terms with the crimes, a culture of remembrance.

Video of launch of new book We'llTake A Cup Of Kindness Yet in Teachers Club Dublin Jan 15 18:37 by John Throne 0 comments

The Donegal Woman based on the life of my grandmother. On publication and without an agent and self published was number two on best sellers list in the North. "We'll Take A Cup Of Kindness Yet" Memoir and Manifest of my self John Throne. From Donegal small farmer Orange Order family to international revolutionary socialist via the Bogside Uprising and other struggles.

Death of Comrade Sean Garland (1934-2018) Dec 13 23:24 by wp 1 comments

“It is with deep sadness and regret that the Workers Party announces the death of Sean Garland, a life-long comrade, a member of the Party’s Central Executive Committee and one of the people who most influenced and shaped the Workers Party over many decades.

Party President Michael Donnelly has paid tribute to Mr Garland saying that he was “a unique and charismatic individual whose contribution to Irish political life cannot be overestimated”.

50 years on- The real history of the Prague Spring Dec 03 22:57 by sp 1 comments

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Prague Spring when the rule of Stalinism in Czechoslovakia and in the entire “Eastern Bloc” was threatened. Solidarity TD and Socialist Party member Mick Barry looks at the lessons of these explosive events.

An Taisce seek Scientific Reasoning behind Heritage Bill Jul 18 21:54 by AnT 0 comments

The Heritage Bill completed its passage through the Oireachtas last night, despite widespread opposition from environmental groups, opposition parties, and concerned citizens and farmers working together with biodiversity.

The Heritage Bill will allow for a relaxation of the dates of the closed period for the burning of vegetation and ‘the cutting, grubbing, removal and otherwise destroying of hedgerows’ contained in Section 40 of the Wildlife Act (1976 and amended 2000)[Note 1] The legislation will allow burning of our upland and lowland hills in March, extending the open period for burning by one month, and for the cutting of roadside hedgerows in August [Note2].

The Stone Portals and mounds of Ireland Aug 19 14:43 by Sergey Smelyakov 0 comments

My dear Irish friends,
Let me introduce the English version of my e-book The Stone Portals devoted to the study of prehistoric Stone artefacts, the first two Chapters (http://www.astrotheos.com/EPage_Portal_HOME.htm) of which I have just posted at my site www.astrotheos.com.
I appeal to you in connection with the fact that much of the material presented in Chapter 2 is devoted to the reconstruction of the prehistoric solar calendar of the Celts, the key days of which are reflected in the festivals (Samhain et al.), and in correlation with the astronomical alignments of the Passage Mounds, and before all – of the Mound of the Hostages, which I analyzed numerically for all the data that I had.
I would not be distracting your attention if the results obtained in relation to precise determining the exact days of these festivals on the alignments of the mounds would not coincide with the same values determined by the astronomical alignment of the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, and a number of other stone artefacts as well.
From my point of view, the results obtained could contribute not only to a more complete disclosure of the properties of these passage mounds and the ancient culture of the Celts in general, but also to that that in scientific, administrative, and esoteric circles, much more attention was paid to preserving and study of these remarkable objects.

Good luck,
Prof. Sergey Smelyakov, Doctor of math, PhD
Kharkov
[email protected]

NEW FLAW found in Eoghan Harris / Gerry Gregg RTE TV documentary An Tost Fada (The Long Si... Jul 29 10:02 by Tom Cooper 1 comments

A NEW FLAW has been discovered in the Eoghan Harris / Gerry Gregg TV documentary An Tost Fada (The Long Silence)

A 1939 gravestone (& inscription) of a woman was presented as that of man killed in 1921 (who An Tost Fada said was killed in April 1922). See link to original story below.

Original Story of successful complaint:
RTE upholds complaint against Eoghan Harris programme on War of independence
http://indymedia.ie/article/102026

100th Easter Commemoration Report Mar 28 18:16 by Séan ÓMurchú 0 comments

The 100th Easter 1916 Commemoration took place in St. Finbarrs Cemetery on Sunday 27th March.

Easter 2016 - The Irish Republic 100 Years On. Mar 27 01:23 by T 3 comments

On the centenary anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising it is worth reflecting on what has happened since then and the aspirations of the proclamation to guarantee equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens and cherishing all of the children of the nation equally.

The Rising itself was doomed to failure from the start but as with life itself often the most unpredictable and unexpected things happen because despite the lack of initial public support, after the executions sympathies swung the other way and as they say the rest was history and the ripples spread out, because it has been said the fight for independence of India was inspired by the Irish Rising.

95th Annual Clonmult Martyrs Commemoration Report Feb 22 21:11 by Séan ÓMurchú 0 comments

The 95th Annual Clonmult Martyrs Commemoration took place in Midleton on Sunday 21st February 2016.

The Commemoration gathered at 2:30pm outside the Courthouse, Main Street, Midleton where a colour party comprising members of the Republican Movement – Cork and Cumann na mBan - Cork assembled.

Save Moore Street 1916 Historic Site & Buildings from Demolition @ 1pm on Sat 30th Jan Jan 28 20:38 by 1 of Indymedia 9 comments

#SaveMooreStreetfromDemolition This is an important call to you to take part in this crucial show of support of the 1916 Moore Street Markets Battlefield site, on this Saturday. We are asking people to come in 1916 uniform or clothes, to bear one of the flags of the 1916 Easter Rising, to tell and bring your friends and comrades. #SaveMooreStreet Please share this post.

The march assembles at Liberty Hall at 1pm on Sat 30th and then proceeds to Moore Street.

Government sides with Corporate Creed to wipe out our revolutionary memory for good. Later this year or next they will sign away ALL our sovereign rights via the EU-US TTIP treaty

LISTEN Irish school girl stuns music world with brilliant charity song Freedom Day Jan 05 18:32 by Redshoedancer 0 comments

A 16-year-old girl has stunned the music industry in Ireland with a brilliant song called Freedom Day, which highlights the suffering of thousands of children facing poverty and oppression across the world.

Róisin Seoighe won a contest organised by the charity PREDA with a song called Freedom Day. Irish singer Damien Dempsey admitted to being overcome with emotion “because this young song writer truly connected with the plight of the children”.

Did The 1916 Easter Rising Serve The Interests Of Workers? Nov 11 14:07 by Patrick Hackett 0 comments

The hullabaloo over the commeroration of the 1916 Rising is merely another device intended to perpetuate the deception of the southern Irish working class. It forms a part of the overall ideological paradigm under which southern Irish workers are to be oppressed and divided from much of the working class in the North.

Dwell Time...A Conversation With Eric Foner Apr 04 10:33 by Jeffrey McNary 0 comments

A brief, breezy look at the illustrious history Eric Foner

Michael Collins - thinking the unthinkable Aug 18 14:20 by Nuala 25 comments

In Catholic Ireland in 1922, suicide was the ultimate shame and disgrace, as well as being seen as almost an unpardonable sin, leaving surviving relatives and admirers in anguish at the possible fate of the suicide's soul.

Cork Cumann na mBan 100 years Anniversary Commemoration Jun 10 12:40 by Sheila Ó Murchú 0 comments

The Cork Cumann na mBan 100 years Anniversary Commemoration took place in St. Joseph's Cemetery on Sunday 8th June.

Cumann na mBan, lead the Colour party carrying the Tri-Colour, and flying the Cumann na mBan Cork and Cumann na Cailíni Cork flags.

98th Easter 1916 Commemoration - Cork Apr 22 20:00 by Seán Ó Murchú 1 comments

The 98th Easter 1916 Commemoration took place in St. Finbarrs Cemetery on Sunday 20th April.

As 2014 is the hundred anniversary of the foundational of Cumann na mBan, they were given the honour of carrying the Tri-Colour, with another proudly flying the Cumann na mBan flag in the Colour party.

Irish Banksy at work Mar 17 11:29 by John O'Shea 1 comments

All over Ireland, leprechauns are being found in front of banks and cultural venues in suspected protest over banking crisis or perhaps a protest against St Particks 'plastic paddy' sterotypes?

Clonmult Martyrs Commemoration Feb 28 20:34 by Seán Ó Murchú 0 comments

The Annual Clonmult Martyrs Commemoration took place in Midleton on Sunday 23rd February.

As 2014 is the hundred anniversary of the foundational of Cumann na mBan, they were given the honour of carrying the Tri-Colour, with another proudly flying the Cumann na mBan flag in the Colour party.

Ireland. The international working class solution. Jan 13 22:02 by john throne 0 comments

The military campaign of the Republican groups was a failure. Some of us said this would be the case from the start. But some of us who did so did not put enough emphasis on the need to struggle for an international solution to the problems facing Ireland. This article seeks to put this right. It also seeks to look at the North and borders and the future taking into account the changes that have taken place and considering alternatives. A socialist united Ireland? Is this possible if the socialist revolution does not start first in England, Scotland and Wales and spread to Ireland North and South? Is it possible that the revolution could unfold in a way that would leave significant divisions in the working class and make the move to a socialist united Ireland not immediately possible? Perhaps some sort of Canton system like exists in Switzerland would be necessary for a time. Can the socialist revolution start first in the North given the deep division made worse by the past 40 years.?

Thor: A Comic Book Versus A Religion Dec 17 23:41 by Marvel Mischief 1 comments

As with many cosmogonies Thor: The Dark World depicts not only the origin of its world but also within the context of perceptions and judgments of good and evil (or good guys against the bad guys). Within this good and evil paradigm of comic book drama we also find our “human” reality of the reality of war, such as various cultures attacking and killing each other from different worlds. Herein the Frost Giants of Jotunheim are attacking Deities of Asgard. Whereas in the Judeo-Christian Bible you could find Archangels creating a civil war, The Battle of Heaven, in which some angels, supposedly created by God, became turncoats against the almighty one. The important point for us to recognize is that even within so-called Realms-of-the-Divine, according the Judeo-Christian narrative and Norse mythology, there is again the common theme of “human” capacity for rebellion, civil disobedience and civil disturbance.

Smithwick and the hypocrisy of it all. Dec 05 15:33 by Raibeart O'Longain 1 comments

Glaring hypocrisy in the light the Smithwick tribunal.

The Famine Pot Aug 03 17:29 by Mattie Lennon 0 comments

John Cassidy goes global.......... Donegal man John Cassidy is embarking on a unique project.

The following is the story behind it;

In 2011 John found an old famine-pot, broken in pieces, in south Donegal. He had it welded, restored and mounted outside Leghowney Community Hall.

Such was the interest shown by American tourists that he decided to do some research on the whole Famine-pot/Soup–kitchen aspect of the famine and found that because of bigotry, pride, misguided patriotism and inherited false information,this aspect of the potato failure was almost air-brushed from our history.

Review of "In the Name of the Republic" May 02 11:41 by Pádraig Ó Ruairc. 1 comments

Hello All - Here is my review of the controversial TV3 Irish War of Independence documentary "In the Name of the Republic" which was presented by Prof. Eunan O'Halpin of Trinity College which has just been published in the May/June issue of History Ireland Magazine. Enjoy:

IRA leader, Tom Barry, once likened the more unsavory aspects of the War of Independence to being dragged “down into the mire”. The two-part documentary, 'In The Name of The Republic', presented by Professor Eunan O'Halpin, explored that mire by examining the uglier aspects of the period. These included the assassination of RIC men, the killings of unarmed British soldiers and the execution and secret burial of alleged British spies.

The first episode focused on Ashbrook Farm, Laois. The owner of the farm related how a predecessor, Jack Walpole, told him that three bodies were dumped there in the 1920's. Walpole, who was described as “a bit eccentric”, claimed to have buried one of the bodies himself. The supernatural was a strong feature of Walpole's tale and he stated his horse could sense the location of the graves, refusing to draw a plough over them.

U.S. Liberal Agenda for More Gun Control Tied to a Totalitarian Agenda Mar 22 21:01 by Case Carver 2 comments

The political agenda regarding foreign policy,is to continue to spend American resources on what is still far too much for Israel’s objectives (such as war with Syria and Iran), ; as these goings-on continue to motivate more dismantlement of American Constitutional liberties here at home (in order to get away with their forms of betrayal (treason) to our founding fathers’ American Creed (which is not protecting the Holy Land) and to true interests of the American peoples. We now continue to live within a tyranny of corrupt betrayal. So to ban the personal right to own rapid-fire weapons here in the United States could happen within this significant context of an ever-evolving totalitarian reality that continues to wrap its dangerous tentacles around our quickly dying freedoms.

The Flame of Slane 2013 Feb 26 18:01 by Slane Local Heroes 0 comments

Celebrating Slane as the home of St Patrick and the Lighting of the Pascal Flame in 432 AD is the central theme of The Flame of Slane Spectacular.
This event was first run in 2012 on Easter Saturday and was a great success. It is fair to say that the audience of about 2000 people were astonished with the show.

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