This letter from Dromore District Council President Anna McNulty reflects the experiences of those from the Six Counties seeking pension recognition after 1922. It shows how their circumstances were often overlooked by authorities in the 'South' militarypensions.wordpress.com/2026/05/01/a...

To single out Eileen Flynn, a woman who has contributed so much to representing the marginalised and has managed to build her own political base against substantial odds, as the supposed exemplar of incompetence in the Seanad (of all places) is clearly motivated by racism and misogyny.

My main personal takeaway from census 1926 is how hard life was for so many on a day-to-day basis. We memorialise conflict after conflict. But there are few statues for the workers who were killed or had their bodies mangled by the daily grind of the early 20th century capitalist system.

Crazy that a government circular explicitly asks schools to discriminate against members of a particular union (ASTI) - barring them from applying for promotions. assets.gov.ie/static/docum...

The 1867 Proclamation far ahead in terms of radical demands- including separation of church and state

Chancers like the Wolfe Tones have destroyed a lot of good songs but for Easter Monday, a decent version of one of the better rebel ballads www.youtube.com/watch?v=keWn...

Toxic overconfidence is on the rise www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...

Great piece of innovative research

For the Easter weekend, a post about republicans who fought in the Rising and subsequently joined the British Army brianhanleyhistory.wordpress.com/2026/04/03/f...

"Some people have more strikes against them than others, but we all have things to overcome. Is being non-speaking worse than a child’s fate in Gaza or an immigrant’s destiny on the streets of Minneapolis? How dare I complain from my comfortable home? Perspective is everything.” Amazing man

Delighted to make both the print and electronic editions of the Irish Times today, in a look at the fateful friendship of Rory O'Connor and Kevin O'Higgins - discussed in depth in my new book 'Rory O'Connor: To Defend the Republic'. www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...

Am reading @gerardshannon.bsky.social excellent bio of Rory O'Connor at the moment, this is a good appetiser for anyone who hasn't bought it www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...

Thanks to Fin Dwyer and the Irish History Podcast for the opportunity to make this shows.acast.com/irishhistory...

Quite the surprise-Report funded by billionaires says that ‘the country needs to do more to attract and retain people with "strategic vision" www.rte.ie/news/busines...

All the people who want Jessie Buckley to star in a movie about Countess Markievicz. Be careful what you wish for. Would it include Markievicz's claim that the Virgin Mary appeared to her in the College of Surgeons and that Britain's divorce laws were a reason to reject the Treaty?

Picked up a leaflet in Dublin calling for people to march for International Women's Day against the 'Epstein Elite' and their 'proximity to Israel.' It wasn't the 'Epstein elite' that abused Irish women and children for decades folks

“A plan is under way to rebrand it as Ireland’s “northern literary lands” and to create the world’s first Unesco region of literature.” www.theguardian.com/books/2026/m...

Brian Hanley on BICO brianhanleyhistory.wordpress.com/blog/?fbclid...

GDP growth of 12%, we’re good craic

Let’s just see how the BBC is framing this war of aggression, shall we?

On nexr wesnesday, TG4, 9.39pm Mná na Léinte Gorma / Women Blueblouses ‘The documentary resists easy judgments, offering a nuanced and critical re-examination of women’s political agency at a moment of profound social change’ . #spéirgorm www.echolive.ie/corklives/ar...

Excellent idea here for all Irish sports bodies to migrate from X to another platform (eg Bluesky). The shift to nastiest parts of the right is most visible among young males. X is central to their indoctrination. Many of these young men join X for sports news and get poisoned by other content.

John Collison, who uncritically interviewed Musk recently www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p... should be asked about that interview and his view on the fascist-tendencies of some tech billionaires in future business section interviews (I am always open to interviewing either of the Collison brothers)

Agree, but inconsistency would appear to be the order of the day, including (especially?) on the 'anti-imperialist' left

Logged back into Twitter briefly yesterday (looking sports coverage). Instantly reminded of the toxicity of that forum and how desensitised to nastiness I must have been when on it.

To think everyone used to hate Martin Edwards. A saint compared to this creep. I'd point out that immigrants built Manchester to him but I suspect this Monaco resident wouldn't give a damn. Another nail in the coffin etc ... news.sky.com/story/the-uk...

On Ed Moloney, 'truth' and the Troubles brianhanleyhistory.wordpress.com/blog/

Outstanding insights provided here. Paddy points to an interesting question which no-one has addressed: how come the B Specials weren't disbanded in the mid-'20s like the A and C Specials and what impact did they have between then, during "peacetime," and the start of the Troubles?

Great stuff here from Paddy Mulroe and Fin Dwyer open.spotify.com/episode/1ga6...

I was delighted to discuss my research on the Ulster Special Constabulary with the Irish History Podcast podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/i...

I sat down with Brian Hanley a few years ago to discuss the reaction to Bloody Sunday south of the border soundcloud.com/stories-from...

Uncivil War, my book about the British Army and the Troubles in the early 1970s, is out in paperback on 15 January. Come and hear me talk about it at the National Army Museum on 13 February: www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/unc...

Research article, 'Matters best forgotten': the Ulster Special Constabulary in 1922, by Patrick Mulroe is available through the following link: @universitypress.cambridge.org

New publication on the Ulster Special Constabulary www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

New blog post: "The use of bombs in Belfast." Hand-grenades, or bombs, killed dozens and wounded hundreds, yet many people had bombs thrown through their front window and still walked out of the house unscathed. thebelfastpogrom.com/2025/12/29/t...

This is superb: a great addition to what we know about a chronically underdocumented force.

When leading Palestine solidarity 'influencers' see nothing wrong with hosting Nick Griffin I'm inclined to think we are back to this academic.oup.com/ahr/article-...

Outstanding new article by Paddy Mulroe on the Ulster Special Constabulary just out www-cambridge-org.elib.tcd.ie/core/journal...

New publication on the Ulster Special Constabulary www.cambridge.org/core/journal...