Echoes of the past from the archives When one reads in a newspaper that ‘a source close to the Minister says’, this can be taken to mean that the Minister himself has been speaking to the correspondent ‘off the record’. Such background briefs are better known as ‘ministerial leaks’ and at time they are the…
The first manned mission to land on the moon in July 1969 was controlled by a tiny computer. It had approximately 64Kbyte of memory, and was more basic than the electronics in modern toasters that have computer controlled stop/start/defrost buttons. Today electronic media of many kinds and full scale computerisation in all areas of life…
Secrets of the power that be One of the great disadvantages of achieving high office in Ireland it that it opens a person to all kinds of correspondents, cranks, beggars, and the merely confused. Jack Lynch’s files provide an example. In September 1971 his department received a letter from an Irish-American lady, addressed to “The…
Secrets of the powers that be In December 1977 the Irish Consulate in Chicago reported its anxiety about the effect of an article that had just appeared in the Chicago Tribune by maverick priest and academic Fr Andrew Greely. This was entitled ‘Ulster a Medieval Nightmare’. He called it “the last bastion of oppression and…
Echoes of the past from the archives That the events across Europe between 1912 and 1924 damaged the minds of a generation of European is widely accepted by historians. The “”shell shock” and “neurasthenia” suffered by those who fought on all sides is well documented. The troubles politics and social life of the 1920 and…
Secrets of the powers that be In 1981 there was some discussion between TCD, the Bank of Ireland and Mr Haughey about the possibility of the National Museum taking over the old Parliament Building on College Green as an extension to the National Museum (a matter now resolved by the opening of Collins Barracks). The…
Christmas is now generally a time of universal celebration and festivity. But the days after the Nativity were different: after the joy of the new child came cruelty and persecution. As always the Bible is pervaded by a sense of the reality of human affairs that people, swept away by sentiment, so often overlook: cruel…
Christmas time is one of the great books buying season of the year. For children and young adults especially the shops are filled with a bonanza of books, of all kinds for all kinds of taste. While it is said that girls take more easily to reading, they often prefer story books about girls,…
At this time of the year the bookshops are filled with books of all kinds, a great many simply produced for immediate seasonal sale, with little hope that they will be of any lasting value to anyone in the months, let alone the years to come. However, among these daunting piles of printed paper for…
A True Symbol of the City of Dublin – The Ha’penny Bridge Dublin by Michael English and others (Dublin City Council, €24.95pb / €34.95hb)