The Colleen Bawn

In the Autumn of 1819, the bound body of a 15-year old girl washed ashore near Money Point at Burrane, on the Clare coast. She had been murdered at the request of her recently eloped husband, John Scanlon. Ellen Scanlon (née Hanley) was born to a Limerick farming family in 1803. Her murder became the subject of books, plays, films, songs and an opera, using the nickname given to her, ‘the…

View On WordPress

History of Ireland: While the island had 8.5 million inhabitants in 1841, the Great Famine caused the death of one million people and more than 1.5 million people emigrated during this period. In 1911, Ireland only had 4.4 million inhabitants.

by @LegendesCarto

Ann Rose Lovett, April 6th 1968 - January 31st 1984

This past January 31st marks forty years since the death of Ann Lovett, Ann was just fifteen years old when she died after giving birth alone, to her stillborn baby laying beneath a statue of the Virgin Mary in a churchyard grotto.

On January 31st 1984 Ann Lovett got up and got dressed as if she were going to go to school like any other day, she was seen in the bathroom by her mother, Patricia Lovett, at around 8am and then seen again walking by a neighbour, Birdie McMahon, dressed in her school uniform with her schoolbag by her side a short time later. Ann’s father, Diarmuid Lovett, didn’t wake up untill 9am and thought Ann was at school like normal, despite her father saying that Ann loved school and would never miss a day none of her teachers informed the Lovettfamily when Ann didn’t turn up at school. Sometime between noon and 12:30pm Ann went to the house of Mary Maguire on Moxham Street which was less than a two minute walk away from Ann’s own home, Mary is the only known person that Ann told about her pregnancy, on December 27th Ann had wrapped her arms around Mary and said to her “Mary, God, I’m pregnant.” She never specified how many months she was to Mary, it’s thought that maybe she didn’t know herself. When Ann had turned up at Mary’s door on January 31st Ann wanted Mary to come out with her, somewhere unspecified but still somewhere that they could go together. Mary couldn’t leave the house as she was babysitting, Ann asked her for a cigarette before leaving. At around 12:45pm on January 31st 1984 Ann Lovett began making her way to the Churchyard grotto in the pouring rain while, wether she knew it or not, either approaching or in the early stages of labour. As Ann reached the Churchyard she pulled a pair of scissors out of her schoolbag that she’d packed with her and left her schoolbag at the Churchyard entrance, at some time between 12:45pm to 4:00pm Ann had lay down, alone, in the rain and gave birth to her baby boy, Ann used the scissors she brought with her to cut the umbilical cord and took off her own coat and wrapped her baby in it. Laying in only her school uniform with her baby in her arms Ann’s body began to go into irreversible shock because of the rain.

Ann’s body was first found by three of school boys at around 4pm who initially came across her schoolbag, the kids heard moaning from inside the grotto and that’s where they found Ann and her dead baby, a boy named Brady said he “took her hand and asked if she was alright, she opened her eyes and then closed them again.” All of the boys ran together to find help, help first came in the form of the first man the boys saw, a man named Tony Kelly, the boys told Tony “there was a girl after falling” which made Tony believe the girl had fallen from the top of the statue on her way home from school and also shows that the boys didn’t realise at first what Ann had actually went through. Thankfully after seeing Ann Tony was beginning to piece together what must have went on. “I held her hand to see was she alright, like, and she was very cold. I put her hand down again. So I went in for the priest and I rang at the door.” Was said by Tony Kelly, when Tony arrived at the priests door the priest said “it’s a doctor you need!” To which Tony replied “I need you too, Father, the little baby is after dying and this little girl might be dying too.” Despite originally pointing out the need for a doctor the priest didn’t call for one, instead he went to retrieve the items needed to perform the last rites. Meanwhile the three boys decided to try their best at helping again and ran together out into the road and knocked on the door of a nearby house, the house belonged to the Gallagher family and at first the young Gallagher daughter answered the door before running to get her father, Eugene Gallagher, she relayed to him that “something terrible was happening at the grotto.” Eugene ran out to the grotto and at this point Tony and the priest were arriving back at the scene too, Eugene then ran back home to call for medical help. It was now 4:14pm.

Eugene called the local doctor, Dr Tom Donoghue, who was in his surgery and Dr Donoghue immediately called for an ambulance which had to come from Mullingar hospital, 42 kilometres away. After calling Eugene gathered up the blankets in his house and ran back up to the grotto. While Eugene was on his way back with the blankets and the priest was almost finishing performing the last rites, the three young boys ran to Ann’s home to tell her family what was happening, only her father and her younger brother Stephen were home when the boys arrived and the pair of them went back to the grotto with the boys once they’d heard what had happened. Soon after Ann’s father and brother arrived at the grotto Dr Donoghue also arrived and quickly realised Ann was suffering from shock, exposure and haemorrhage, “I had a little hope for her, but not much. She was very critically ill.” Dr Donoghue would recall later. Ann was now covered in blankets before her and her baby were carried into Dr Dronoghue’s car, Diarmuid Lovett was driven back home in Dr Dronoghue’s car with his dying daughter and dead grandson.

Now home Diarmuid Lovett lit an oil stove and attempted to keep Ann warm, he also placed two hot water bottles next to the body of the baby despite probably knowing/able to tell that the baby was already dead. It was now 5:10pm and the ambulance had arrived, Patricia Lovett who had arrived home after being alerted about what had happened while grocery shopping went with Ann in the ambulance while her father remained at home. A man named Sr Damien who was attached to St Jospeh’s Hospital was also in the ambulance, at this point Ann was still conscious and Sr Damien would later recall that “I asked the girl her name and she attempted to answer, but I couldn’t make out what she said.”

At 5:55pm Ann was admitted to Mullingar Hospital, upon her arrival it was noted that Ann’s lips and fingertips were white, a medical state called cyanosis. It is said her school uniform was soaked and that Ann herself was cold to the touch, The obstetrician in attendance, Dr Marie Skelly, directed that blood and oxygen be given. “Momentarily there were signs of recovery, but almost immediately she stopped breathing,” said Dr Skelly. She said it was difficult to find whether Ann had succumbed due to hypothermia and exposure, or haemorrhage. Ann did not respond when her chest was opened for direct cardiac massage.

Ann Rose Lovett was pronounced dead shortly after at just fifteen years, nine months and twenty five days.

Ann and her baby’s funeral was held on the morning of February third, Ann’s shocked and deeply saddened classmates formed a guard of honour outside of the church and later went on to sing a choir song inside, Pat Kilvan one of Ann’s teachers played the violin during her funeral service. Ann and her baby were buried together in the Granardkill graveyard, Ann’s baby boy was given the posthumous baptismal name of Pat.

Things said in account of Ann and small things about her life:

“pixie-faced, with dark-brown hair, about shoulder length, slight and not much more than five-foot-two in height.” Said by Nuala Ledwith, a girl two years above Ann at school.

“I always thought she was a strong kind of girl; a kick-ass kind of girl.” Again said by Nuala Ledwith, a girl two years above Ann at school.

“She was a pretty girl. She nearly always had her hair tied up in loads and loads of little plaits. Every so often, she would undo the braids and her hair would stick out in all these lovely curls.” Said by a boy named Michael, who often sat next to Ann in class.

Ann was “very engaging. She was very, very outgoing, very bubbly and a bit of a tomboy, she was gregarious, and the life and soul of all the fun that was happening. The one thing I remember most strongly about her after all these years is that she seemed very independent and strong.”

Ann could often be found hanging out with her friends at Granard’s only and small “pool hall”, which was actually just a little grocery shop with a pool table and four space invader game machines crammed into it.

Ann also had her ears pierced by a friend after asking her to do so at her house.

I saw this video, and it made me want to cry. In the video, an Irish person tears down a Palestinian flag hanging off O'Connell Bridge in Dublin. Have the similarities between what is going on in Palestine and what Ireland endured for centuries been forgotten so quickly?

Let me explain what similarities I'm talking about.

First, we have the An Gorta Mór (the Great Hunger), known colloquially as the Potato Famine. It is often agreed that this was a man-made hunger, not a famine (many have called it a genocide, but that is debated, given that it wasn't explicitly planned). Basically, only one crop, the potato, failed. However, food continued to be exported to Britain. People died from hunger, yes, but also from disease. Conservative estimates put the death count at ~1 million.

Currently, in Palestine, over two million people are facing food shortages, and about half a million are experiencing acute hunger. Humanitarian aid has not reached Gaza, in fact, it is being blocked by Israel.

Another similarity we can see is the mass exodus of the Irish during An Gorta Mór, with people trying to escape the starvation and death. But there were also people being forced from their homes by famine clearances- where landlords evicted hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and farms. There are undeniable similarities between these events and the Nakba- an ethnic cleansing where Israel forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs from their homes.

(Neither of these events were as long ago as you might think- my grandmother's grandfather lived through the An Gorta Mór. I have family friends whose parents whose parents were displaced from the Nakba.)

There is a lot of information on how religion was part of the English subjugation of Ireland- how they justified it in the Tudor Era, and how they arguably used it to justify the effects of the famine*.

(*Please note that this particular source is undeniably biased in favor of Ireland, but I struggled to find a source that was about how Irish people in Ireland were being viewed by England, as most sources were about Irish immigrants were viewed in America.)

To be clear, the Israel-Palestine conflict is not a religious conflict, but there are efforts to make it seem as though it is one, and it is a propaganda tool that Israel uses, so I do think that it is worth bringing up religion in this post.

Now let's fast forward through history. My Great-Grandparents were all, to different extents, involved in the Irish fight for independence. I had family members in the IRA during the 1920's, and later, the organization was considered a terrorist group. But my ancestors were fighting for a free Ireland, and to have rights in their own homeland.

If you don't know the history of Hamas by now, you can read it or listen to it here. But what strikes me is that they were voted into power by people who wanted to be free in their homeland, just like my great-grandparents. Palestinians are fighting to have the same thing Ireland fought for. And Ireland was not peaceful about it. They were loud, and bloody, and engaged in guerrilla warfare.

Let me be perfectly clear: I am an American. But I grew up with the stories of my family who fought for freedom in Ireland. And when I see the video above, with the speaker off camera saying that seeing the Palestine flag makes them "sick," I want to cry.

Where is the compassion? Do you not see how the hurt of the Palestinians is the same hurt my great-great grandfather endured? If Ireland's quest to regain control of their home is honorable and justified, why would the same not be true for the Palestinians?

Colonization and oppression are inexcusable, no matter where they happen, and the only way to fight it is with solidarity.

Brian Boru “Ireland’s Greatest King”

Brian Boru was an Irish king who lived from 941 to 1014. He is widely regarded as one of the most significant figures in medieval Irish history and is remembered for his leadership and military prowess in unifying a number of warring factions in Ireland and achieving a brief period of peace known as the “Golden Age”. His life and legacy have been the subject of much academic research and debate, with historians differing on many points regarding Boru’s life, achievements, and impact on early medieval Ireland. This paper will provide an overview of Brian Boru's life story, his major accomplishments, and how his legacy has been interpreted throughout history.

​​Brian Boru was born in 941 at Killaloe, County Clare in what is now modern day Ireland. He was of Dalcassian origin, descended from Conmhaícne Mara (the Clann Cian), a branch of the Uí Néill dynasty that ruled over much of northern Ireland during this period. From an early age he was groomed to be a leader within the Dalcassian confederation by his father Cennétig mac Lorcáin , who had become King of Thomond (modern day Munster) at a young age himself.

​​Boru's rise to power began with his appointment as chief councillor for Máel Sechnaill II mac Domnaill , High King of Ireland from 980-1002. During this period he gained control over much of Munster through military campaigns against rival clans and eventually became its king; he also gained influence over Leinster which enabled him to consolidate more power through political alliances. His rise to become High King began when Máel Sechnaill abdicated in 1002 upon having defeated several Viking invaders in battle; Brian was appointed High King soon after by the other Irish rulers.

​​

Boru's reign as High King proved to be hugely successful for the people of Ireland; he managed to bring a period of relative peace between various warring factions throughout the country, earning him great respect amongst all those living there at the time. In addition to this, Brian also promoted Christianity; according to chroniclers such as Marianus Scotus , he built churches throughout Munster and had relics from Rome brought back to Armagh . Moreover, he worked hard to ensure that justice prevailed throughout his kingdom: according to historical records he held court hearings every two weeks where grievances could be heard without fear or favouritism .

​​However, not all aspects of Brian’s rule were seen positively; some historians have criticised him for being overly authoritarian in dealings with other Irish rulers who opposed him. Nonetheless it cannot be denied that Boru put forward ambitious plans for creating a united Ireland under one ruler which unsettled many experienced political leaders .

​​Ultimately Brian's reign ended with his death on Good Friday 1014 at Clontarf where he led an army against forces led by Sweyn Forkbeard , King of Denmark ; despite defeating many opposing forces it is believed that Boru died after being attacked by a group while praying near his tent during battle . Although it can be argued that Brian failed to achieve lasting peace in Ireland due to subsequent warfare after his death it cannot be denied that he made significant advances towards unity during his lifetime .

​​​In conclusion Brian Boru has gone down in history as one of the most important figures in medieval Irish history; often seen as a heroic figure whose strong leadership qualities allowed him brief periods peace for those living within its borders . He is remembered for numerous achievements including consolidating power across various regions , promoting Christianity throughout Munster , enacting justice without fear or favouritism , and attempting unifying politics which set foundations for future generations . As such it could be argued that despite not achieving long lasting unification during his lifetime there are numerous aspects regarding Brian's rule which continue impacting upon modern day Ireland today both politically and culturally .

​​References:

​​​​1. Duffy S., 1993 The World Of The Gallowglass: Kings, Warlords And Warriors In Early Ireland 1250 - 1600 Dublin: Four Courts Press pp 24-25

​​​2. Byrne FJ., 1973 Ages Of Invasions In Early Medieval History Dublin: Maunsel & Co Ltd pp 79-84

​​3. O Corrain D., 2000 A New History Of Ireland Volume I Oxford University Press pp 144-151

​​4. Edwards NF., 2011 A Military History Of Medieval Ireland Edinburgh University Press pp 175-180

​​​​5. Ó Corráin D., 1972 Prehistoric And Early Christian Ireland London: Thames & Hudson Ltd pp 26-31

Dry Stone Walls of Ireland

Stone walls are one of Ireland’s most distinctive landscape features and it is estimated that the Irish countryside is a patchwork of over 250,000 miles of stone wall. The dry stone walls are mortarless and are made by carefully selecting stones that will balance and ‘sit’ into the wall as they are built. To date the oldest known example of dry stone walls in Ireland are at the ‘The Ceide…

View On WordPress

Beannachtai na Cásca oraibh! Happy Easter!

View On WordPress

#OTD in 2007 – Irish Becomes The 23rd Official Language Of the EU.

The Irish language has been given official status in Europe, taking its place as the 23rd language of the European Union. The move received curiously little attention in the Republic of Ireland, given that the language has at times been regarded as a semi-mystical part of the national identity. This may, however, have been due to the fact that, both in Ireland and throughout Europe, the move had…

View On WordPress

#OTD in 1972 – In what is to become known as Bloody Sunday, the British Army kills 13 civil rights demonstrators in the Bogside district of Derry. A 14th marcher later dies of his injuries.

Thirteen people were shot and killed when British paratroopers opened fire on a crowd of civilians in Derry. Fourteen others were wounded, one later died. The marchers had been campaigning for equal rights such as one man, one vote. Despite initial attempts by British authorities to justify the shootings including a rushed report by Lord Widgery exonerating the troops, the Saville Report which…

View On WordPress

Midir and Etáin

A bronze representation of the mythical figures Midir and Etain taking flight swan-like by Eamonn O’Doherty at Ardagh Heritage and Creativity Centre. Midir was a king of the Tuatha de Dannan; proud, handsome and regal. His wife was called Fuamnach, and was his equal in every way. She too was tall and proud, and she was herself the daughter of a king. She was a good wife to Midir, she looked…

View On WordPress

Dún Aonghasa | Co Galway

The view from the summit of the fort is most impressive and solemn: the desolate-looking fields…fall away to the golden crescent of Kilmurvey strand, and rise up the opposite hill…to the old lighthouse near Dun Oghil. Eastwards runs the long range of steep, dark headlands, and deep bays, rarely unsheeted by high-leaping spray… The limits of the view on clear days reach from the giant peaks of…

View On WordPress

Kilmainham Gaol

Kilmainham Gaol is one of the largest unoccupied gaols in Europe, covering some of the most heroic and tragic events in Ireland’s emergence as a modern nation from the 1780s to the 1920s. Attractions include a major exhibition detailing the political and penal history of the prison and its restoration. Located approximately two miles outside of Dublin city centre, it was built as a county gaol to…

View On WordPress

#OTD in 2012 – Death of David Kelly in Dublin. He was an Irish actor, who had regular roles in several film and television works from the 1950s onwards.

One of the most recognisable voices and faces of Irish stage and screen, Kelly was known to Irish audiences for his role as Rashers Tierney in Strumpet City, to British audiences for his roles as Cousin Enda in Me Mammy and as the builder Mr. O’Reilly in Fawlty Towers, and to American audiences for his role as Grandpa Joe in the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Another notable role was as…

View On WordPress

#OTD in Irish History | 22 April:

1365 – Lionel returns to England, leaving Ormond as his deputy. 1671 – An English Navigation Act prohibits direct importation of sugar, tobacco and other produce from the colonies to Ireland; act expires in 1681 but is renewed in 1685 and extended in 1696. 1717 – John Marshall, a successful attorney and father of Robert Marshall, a future MP for Clonmel and an executor of Hester Vanhomrigh…

View On WordPress

Wren Day, also known as Wren's Day or the Day of the Wren (Lá an Dreoilín), celebrated on St Stephen's Day.

The tradition is very much on the wane now but in some few localities Wrenboys still go out in Ireland on St. Stephens Day. The central theme of the wrenboy visit is the wren, an effigy of which is carried about in a holly branch or in a box or cage. Previously it was hunted and killed prior to St. Stephen’s Day and a matter of honour for groups to have a real bird. Why, of all birds, is the…

View On WordPress