How many of this summer’s music festivals will be remembered? Probably none. Woodstock, August 1969, however, has its historic place in culture (or counterculture) assured; an ‘Aquarian Exposition of Peace and Music’ as the poster’s dove…

On St. Stephen’s Day in 1867, with darkness falling on Fota Island in Cork’s inner harbour, two gunners and their families sat down to a meal of Christmas Day left-overs. Their home, the island’s Martello Tower, housed a stock of guns and…

Presidential daughters have always been scrutinised by the American press. Some have served as trusted advisors – we see Ivanka Trump in this role. Others have caused embarrassment – the Bush twins immediately come to mind. Cited for…

‘The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist, nor to any one organization, but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights,’ – so says feminist campaigner and political activist, Gloria Steinem.…

Can’t buy love? Interflora and Hallmark disagree. Valentine’s Day, a key day in the commercial calendar sends hearty purchasers into frenzied splurges on syrupy cards, flowers, chocolates and every kind of love token. Behind all this…

‘Race,’ President Obama said in his farewell address, ‘remains a potent and often divisive force in our society.’  ‘You never really know a person,’ he said, quoting Atticus Finch, hero of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, ‘until you…

American women have spent their entire lives choosing between presidential candidates of the opposite sex. That is until now. This year, Hilary Rodham Clinton made history by becoming the first female nominee from a major party. She is,…

In America, as everywhere else, politics and scandal are coupled like ham and eggs. Outrage at Donald Trump’s 'on mic' locker room banter, might suggest that such revelations are novel. Not at all! Voters in the American Gilded Age, just…