On this day 107 years ago, one of the most significant events in Irish history took place: the convening of the First Dáil and the beginning of the Irish War of Independence. Two years later, the Irish Free State was founded - an incredible achievement, but one not made without sacrifice.

We were in Dublin yesterday for our History of Family field trip 😊 Many thanks to Henrietta Street & @nlireland.bsky.social for hosting us. Pictured with permission some of the MA History of Family & MA History students who take my module @ulhistory.bsky.social So lovely to meet in person!

Thanks to OMahonys in Limerick having me down yesterday to sign copies of my book ❤️ first time I've personally seen it in a bookshop! @ria.ie @ulhistory.bsky.social

Thank you for following this nascent #PublicHistorian as I learned to use #Bluesky for what I love doing: telling a good story. The #HeistHistories we continue to share shape our understanding of ourselves and our relationship with institutions of power. 📷: @claireul2025.bsky.social #HI6171

The #MapleSyrupHeist shows how positive #stereotypes can fortify #NationalIdentity. Canada’s “most valuable” #Heist was non-violent, with no guns, and the perpetrators were held accountable. #LiquidGold for a country that often defines itself in contrast to its neighbour. #HI6171 #PublicHistory

#GardnerMuseum: two fake police, 13 stolen masterpieces, and 0 arrests. Maybe this #Heist shows the moment in time when #massmedia and #PublicBroadcasting broadened the publics understanding of the value of #Art and #CulturalHerietage? #PublicHistory #Democratizing #Culture? #HI6171

At the Northern Bank in Belfast masked men stole £26M, the largest cash robbery in UK history. This #Heist (though the violent kidnapping blurs this term) exposed a society still marked by conflict and fragile trust. Maybe it exposes the fault lines of #reconciliation? #HI6171 📷: Amazon

In non-violent heists, I often root for the thief. Is my #Heist fascination about the crime or the fantasy of reclaiming power from institutions? Is the public appeal questioning who owns heritage, who tells history, and who keeps it? Maybe a #decolonizing conversation for the masses? #HI6171

In 1911, the #MonaLisa vanished from the #Louvre. The thief? Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian nationalist who believed she should return home. For two years the world searched, never imagining she was hidden in his small apartment. #Heritage, #identity, and #art intertwined. #HI6171 📷: Louvre

Why do we root for the thief? Maybe because every #Heist flips the script. Its about individuals outsmarting the powerful. We cheer rebellion against systems that feel untouchable. It’s not the crime we admire, but the courage to challenge control. #PublicHistory #Heritage #HI6171

From the #Louvre to #Belfast to #Belfast to #RuralCanada, every #Heist becomes more than a crime, it becomes a story, a symbol, and a shared memory. We study them not just for what was stolen, but for what they reveal about us. 📷: Cultural Heritage Informatics Initiative #HI6171

In July 2012, Michel, a worker in a #CanadianCartel, arrives at a rural warehouse to check inventory. For years his cartel had been building a secret reserve, a stockpile of "sweet stuff," allowing them to control the price of what they're pushing. To Michel all looks fine... until👇 #HI6171

Going back to the inspiration for this week’s #StudentTakeOver, this is a great listen for understanding why the #LouvreHeist matters from a #Nationalism, #PublicHistory and #CultureLovers perspective. #Heritage #Culture #MaterialCulture #TourGuide #ViveLeMusée! www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/...

Please come to the annual Bolton-King public lecture on 5 November, at 6pm. Organised by the Limerick Centre for Early Modern Studies (@cemslimerick.bsky.social), in association with the Hunt Museum @ulhistory.bsky.social @michistory.bsky.social @ulresearch.bsky.social @ullibrary.bsky.social

Louvre heist raises decades-old questions about museum security f24.my/BVbV.BS Anyone working in #GLAMs knows that shrinking budgets make it harder to truly serve our publics. How can we protect invaluable cultural heritage in an era of austerity and constant cuts to culture funding? #HI6171

With the #LouvreHeist still making headlines, let’s explore another unsolved museum #Heist. It’s just after 1AM on March 18, 1990, in Boston (a famously rowdy city on St. Patrick’s Day), when a security guard at the #IsabellaStewartGardnerMuseum opens the door to two men dressed as police officers.

Louvre director admits security failures and insufficient camera coverage after heist

Do you remember where you were when you heard about the #NorthernBankHeist? Tell me about it 👇#HI6171 #Heist #Ireland #PublicHistory #HeistHistories📷: Freepik.com

Northern Ireland, 2004. Just six sleeps until Christmas. Late in the evening, two separate households hear knocks at their doors, but it’s not carolers who await. It’s armed men, arriving to take the families of bank employees hostage. So begins the intense story of the #NorthernBankHeist. #HI6171

This photo accompanying a news story about the heist at the Louvre is perfection.

Today let's explore the #HeistHistories surrounding the 1911 theft of the #MonaLisa. For anyone who's visited the #Louvre and joined the Mona mosh pit, it's hard to believe she was once unpopular, and that it was the very act of being stolen that transformed her into a pop culture icon. TBC 👇#HI6171

Hi, I'm @claireul2025.bsky.social, a Paris-based tour guide and part-time UL Public History MA student. Yesterday we got TIARA-BLE news from the #Louvre. Inspired by the headlines, let’s look at the greatest #HeistHistories during my week-long student takeover #HI6171 📸: Louvre

With this last post for the “History of Halloween” week, I wish everyone a spooky and scary Halloween and for those celebrating Samhain a considerate harvest and start of winter. #HI6171 #PublicHistory #Halloween #Samhain #Pumpkins 📸: heidihistory.bsky.social

Johnstown Castle is hosting various Halloween Events starting tomorrow with “Museum of Mysteries”. Check out their Instagram for more information: @johnstowncastle 📸: johnstowncastle #HI6171 #JohnstownCastle #Halloween #MuseumOfMysteries

The Egungun Festival, a Yoruba tradition, honours ancestors who guide the living with moral values. Men in masks dance and channel spirits through priests, cleansing the community with rituals, blessings, and warnings. #HI6171 #HalloweenInNigeria 📸: Africa.wisc.edu

Across Asia, Halloween’s counterpart is the Hungry Ghost Festival, held in the seventh lunar month (usually August). Celebrations vary by country, including China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, honouring spirits and ancestors. #HI6171 #HalloweenInAsia 📸: Hellotokyotours.com

In Austria, people didn’t use to celebrate Halloween; instead they celebrate Allerheiligen (All Hallows’ Day) and Allerseelen (All Souls Day). On which people think about loved ones who passed away, visit the cemetery and light candles. #HI6171 #PublicHistory #Allerheiligen 📸: ksta.de

Column: While mourning and joy are not two emotions that fit together, on Día de los Muertos we party with our dead. But this celebration of life in death could become another “Cinco de Mayo,” losing its homegrown significance.

In Mexico, Día de los Muertos honors the dead with music, dancing, food, and colorful skulls. Families gather in cemeteries, leaving gifts on graves to welcome the spirits believed to return to visit their loved ones. #HI6171 #HalloweenInMexico #DiaDeLosMuertos 📸:theguardian.com

In the USA, Halloween is celebrated on October 31st with costumes, spooky decorations, and trick-or-treating. People carve pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, attend parties, visit haunted houses, and enjoy candy, scary movies, and festive parades. #HI6171 #HalloweenInTheUsa 📸:eu.news-leader.com

Halloween became popular in America after 19th-century Irish and Scottish immigration, bringing their traditions and the custom of using a hollowed turnip lantern, which later evolved into modern Halloween celebrations. #HI6171 #Halloween #Ireland #Scotland #NorthAmerica 📸:blogs.loc.gov

Halloween today is a fun, spooky celebration where people dress up in costumes, decorate homes with ghosts and pumpkins, and enjoy candy, parties, and scary movies. It‘s also associated with the supernatural and horror. #HI6171 #PublicHistory #Halloween 📸: displate.com

Something spooky and historical? Come to King Johns Castle on October 17th for Samhain Tales by the fireside for storytelling with Daithi Collopy. Check out their Instagram for more information: @kingjohncastle 📸: kingjohncastle #HI6171 #SamhainTales #KingJohnCastle #Halloween

Today, trick or treating means dressing up in costumes and going from house to house on October 31st, asking for candy or other treats by saying this phrase. #HI6171 #PublicHistory #Halloween #TrickOrTreat #Candy 📸: emmauspa.gov

Trick-or-treating began with the medieval “souling” custom, when the poor sought food or money for prayers for the dead. In Scotland and Ireland, this evolved into “guising,” where people dressed up and performed for treats on Halloween. #HI6171 #TrickOrTreat #Halloween 📸: smithsonianmag.com

Halloween was once focused on romance rather than scares — a night filled with fortune-telling games and rituals that helped single women predict or find their future husbands. Read more about these traditions here: www.womansday.com #HI6171 #PublicHistory #Halloween 📸: womandsday.com

During the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, large bonfires were lit to scare away evil spirits, mark the year's end, and protect families. These flames also rekindled home fires and brought communities together for feasting and fortune-telling. #HI6171 #Bonfire 📸: visithendersonvillenc.org

King John’s Castle is doing various Halloween workshops this year, and they just added more art workshops, like pumpkin painting or mask-making workshops. Check out their Instagram for more information: @kingjohncastle 📸: @kingjohncastle #HI6171 #PumpkinPainting #MaskMaking #KingJohnCastle

If you don't have a costume yet and you are looking for something traditional Celtic myth inspired, check out: irishmyths.com/2022/10/17/c... #HI6171 #PublicHistory #HalloweenCostumes #CelticMythInspiredCostumes 📸:irishmyths.com

What customs are appropriate in terms of cultural misappropriation? Check out this article about how to be respectful during Halloween: eighthgeneration.com/blogs/blog/h... #HI6171 #CultureIsNotACostume 📸: twulasso.com

The tradition of wearing Halloween costumes probably originated from an ancient Celtic festival on October 31, when people dressed up in costumes to protect themselves from evil spirits as winter approached. #HI6171 #PublicHistory #HalloweenCostumes 📸: moneymentors.ca

A jack-o'-lantern is a carved pumpkin or root vegetable linked to Halloween. Its name originates from eerie bog lights called will-o’-the-wisps and the Irish tale of Stingy Jack, cursed to wander with a glowing turnip lantern. #HI6171 #JackO’Lantern #Halloween 📸: svgcuts.com

From October 24th until November 2nd, the National Famine Museum is hosting various Samhain tours to discover the customs and traditions of Samhain / Halloween. Check out their Instagram site and book your tickets: @strokestownpark 📸:@strokestownpark #HI6171 #Samhain #TheNationalFamineMuseum

The name “Halloween” is a shortened form of All Hallows’ Eve, the night before All Hallows’ Day (All Saints’ Day), a Christian holiday celebrated on November 1st. #HI6171 #PublicHistory#AllHallows’Eve #AllHallows’Day #Halloween 📸: fg-a.com

Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival on November 1, marked when the veil between gods and humans thinned. It was a mysterious, perilous time when deities mingled with mortals, causing fear and strange supernatural happenings. #HI6171 #PublicHistory #Samhain 📸: @britannica.com

This week's theme will be about the ‘History of Halloween’. I will be going back to the roots of this holiday, as well as comparing different Halloween traditions nowadays in various countries. I am excited to hear your thoughts on it. #HI6171 #PublicHistory #Halloween 📸: @heidihistory.bsky.social

Hi everyone, my name is Heidemarie Rossak, I am 25 years old, living in Austria. I am excited to announce that I will be taking over the UL History account for this week. I'm currently doing my master’s in Public History and Cultural Heritage. #HI6171 #PublicHistory 📸:heidihistory.bsky.social

If you'd like to know more about her new book, Dr Leanne Calvert will be part of a panel discussion, ‘Women, Struggle and Resilience’, taking place at @ria.ie on 6 November as part of this year's Dublin Book Festival. @leannecalvert.bsky.social @ulhistory.bsky.social @dublinbookfest.bsky.social

If you need a pick me up this rainy afternoon, here's some colourful stories of sex & C18th Ulster Presbyterians to whet your appetite! #HistSex #HistFam @unioflimerick.bsky.social @ria.ie @theconversation.com theconversation.com/the-sex-live...

Liam Mellows and the Irish Revolution with Ruan O’Donnell Wed 8th Oct, 7pm Seminal account of Liam Mellows’ political life and revolutionary role, this new edition is the first corrected version and incorporates revisions noted by Greaves Register: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...