History

The idea that someone you know is capable of murder is a shocking thought. And in the London literary scene of the 1820s everyone knew Thomas Griffiths Wainewright. He threw the best parties, he wore the best clothes, and his distinctive…

Nowadays William Blake is celebrated as one of the greatest English artists and poets, but in his time he was ignored and dismissed by the artistic establishment. For all of his life he was tormented by visions; visions of the marvelous and…

Born on January 21st 1876 to Armagh parents in Liverpool, James Larkin is forever linked to the trade union movement in Ireland and the 1913 Dublin Lockout but, shortly after that episode in Irish history he went to America where he ended…

Though it’s true that Australia was largely settled by convicts it was far from a lawless place in the early 19th century during the heyday of “transportation”. The sentence of transportation was a compromise by a British government moving…

From childhood we’re trained to trust members of the medical profession, so when that trust is turned on us it cuts deeply. The idea that these people who we rely on to save our lives might take it instead is a particular horror. And when…

When the Armistice was announced in November 1918, bringing an end to World War I, it raised hope for a lasting peace across Europe. It wasn't as simple as that, however once a United States Navy cargo vessel sailed into Dublin to collect…

Throughout medieval times, the Jews of Europe had a hard time as the traditional scapegoats for any misfortune that befell communities. Rather than admit that they might be at fault (or indeed that things might just happen) it was easier…

Nobility in pre-Revolutionary France was something of a double-edged sword. Of course it came with great privilege, and the nobles of France were permitted behaviour that was unthinkable for those of lower orders. But it also came with…

Nowadays Dante Alighieri is primarily remembered as the author of the Divine Comedy, but there was a lot more to him than that. Politician and poet, he ended his life in exile from a city which he had once ruled. He elevated the language of…

During the 1936 U.S Presidential election, William Dudley Pelley, the son of a Methodist minister from Massachusetts entered the race as a candidate for the Christian Party. Formerly a foreign correspondent across Europe and Russia in the…