The Papers of Desmond and Mabel FitzGerald (UCDA P80) include letters from Ernie O’Malley to Mabel FitzGerald, which evince a warm personal friendship between them, in addition to a shared political philosophy. Mabel Washington McConnell, a Belfast Presbyterian and nationalist, met Desmond FitzGerald, born in London of Irish parents, at Gaelic League classes where he … Continue reading Ever yours, Ernie
This addition to our Decade of Centenaries series is quite unusual and not very well known. From November 1922 until January 1923 there was a flurry of correspondence between Desmond FitzGerald, Irish Pro-Treaty Minister of External Affairs, and Mark Sturgis, Irish Colonial Office, concerning the establishment of an internment camp for Republican prisoners on the … Continue reading DOC Series: Interned on St Helena
Happy New Year and welcome to another year of fascinating blogs from UCD Cultural Heritage Collections! Christmas is a time of family and friend get togethers usually around food and maybe a tipple or two. After two weeks of these get togethers, bellies may be slightly larger and the yulehole (yes it is a word!) on … Continue reading What’s on the menu?
'Walter has been Mother, Father and ideal friend to me. I could not have lived through those days of stress without his unexampled care and princely hospitality.' During the Treaty debates in 1922 these words were spoken by Arthur Griffith to H.E. Kenny about his dear friend, Alderman Walter Leonard Cole. Not long after, on … Continue reading Mother, Father and Ideal Friend
2018 marks the 100th anniversary of partial women’s suffrage, granted under the Representation of the People Act (1918) which received royal assent on 6 February 1918, extending the franchise to all men over 21 and for the first time, to women over 30 if they were a graduate voting in a university constituency or a … Continue reading Unconquered and Unconquerable