George V’s opening of the Northern Ireland parliament
On 22 June 1921 King George V officially opened the Northern Ireland parliament, thus confirming the existence of Northern Ireland as set out in the 1920 Government of Ireland Act. Moreover, since the...
22 Jun 20211h 6min
Mayo in the Revolutionary Decade
Despite a notable revolutionary pedigree—scene of a French invasion in support of the 1798 Rebellion and cradle of the Land League in 1879—Mayo was a ‘slow starter’ in the War of Independence, with ma...
11 Jun 20211h 15min
The First Irish Cities: an eighteenth-century transformation
Author David Dickson in conversation with Tommy Graham (editor, History Ireland) The untold story of a group of Irish cities and their remarkable development before the age of industrialization. A b...
9 Jun 202144min
The burning of the Custom House, 25 May 1921
On 25 May 1921, Dublin’s Custom House, headquarters of the Local Government Board of Ireland, was occupied and then burnt in an operation involving over 100 IRA volunteers. It has long been regarded a...
25 Mai 20211h 11min
Conceived in controversy—230 years of the Custom House
Today James Gandon’s neoclassical masterpiece is one of the most recognizable and well-regarded buildings in Dublin. Its completion in 1791 marked yet another instalment in the movement of the axis of...
14 Mai 20211h 14min
Wexford in the Revolutionary Decade
While not in the vanguard of armed activity during the War of Independence, Wexford has the distinction of being one of the few counties outside Dublin that saw action during the 1916 Rising. On the o...
23 Apr 20211h 5min
A History of Partition from the 1920 Government of Ireland Act to Brexit
While the constitutional outcomes of the revolutionary period have evolved over time, one has remained constant over the past century—partition. While a previous Hedge School in December 2020 examined...
9 Apr 20211h 17min
Crossbarry, Co. Cork—the biggest engagement of the War of Independence
At Crossbarry, Co. Cork, on 19 March 1921 over 100 IRA volunteers, under the command of Tom Barry, were almost surrounded by a combined force of regular British Army and Auxiliaries of at least ten ti...
19 Mar 20211h 9min
