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Welcome to Irish Examiner History Collections - remembering the key people and events that have shaped us

<p>The original wood from kit houses brought over from America to house miners in Allihies has been recycled into a model of the one of the original houses. Picture: David Dudley</p>

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American wood used for West Cork mining huts to make journey home after hundreds of years

Such kit homes were very rare in Ireland, and when mining finished in the village of Allihies in the late 1800s, the wood from them was auctioned off and was recycled to build houses

<p>Irish influencer Ella Deasy said a group chat of 200 boys and men had been created which was focused on destroying her accommodation. Picture: Instagram/@elladeasyy</p>

ourview

Irish Examiner view: Act fast on toxic online culture when issues are raised

<p>The Four-faced liar: The four Mangan clocks at St Anne's Church in Shandon. Picture: Larry Cummins</p>

munster

Cork’s iconic Shandon Bells to receive €250,000 for restoration

Board to be asked to consider renaming Kerry Airport after Daniel O'Connell

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Board to be asked to consider renaming Kerry Airport after Daniel O'Connell

Rosita Sweetman: How Oscar Wilde’s forgotten wife Constance paid the price for his fame

S comment-analysis

Rosita Sweetman: How Oscar Wilde’s forgotten wife Constance paid the price for his fame

Clodagh Finn: Walking women back into the fabric of our cities

History: On This Day

History - 1984

1984 Revisited: Ford's was so rooted in Cork that its closure was unthinkable

S 1984 Revisited: Ford's was so rooted in Cork that its closure was unthinkable

1984 was a seminal year in Ireland. Forty years on, our writers look back at some of the scandals and stories that made the headlines and helped shape the Ireland of today

1984 Revisited: How Irish activists took a stance against apartheid

S 1984 Revisited: How Irish activists took a stance against apartheid

1984 Revisited: Calling last orders on the holy hour

S 1984 Revisited: Calling last orders on the holy hour

1984 Revisited: Sea drama leads to massive arms haul

S 1984 Revisited: Sea drama leads to massive arms haul

History - The Civil War

Michael Moynihan: Stuck for a superb Christmas gift? This one rewards every reader

S Michael Moynihan: Stuck for a superb Christmas gift? This one rewards every reader

If anyone in your house enjoys history, politics, or revolution then this is the book to buy

Cork collector says he will never sell his priceless Michael Collins memorabilia

Cork collector says he will never sell his priceless Michael Collins memorabilia

Clodagh Finn: A street in dire need of women

Clodagh Finn: A street in dire need of women

Decision to execute Richard Barrett in reprisal for TD's murder 'so vindictive and so wrong'

Decision to execute Richard Barrett in reprisal for TD's murder 'so vindictive and so wrong'

Mick Clifford

SPECIAL 5-PART
CIVIL WAR PODCAST SERIES

Join Mick Clifford and guests who explore all aspects of the Civil War from how it shaped our history to the women who played such an integral role and the legacy it left.

History - Road to Civil War

Mick Clifford: MacSwiney’s legacy is being stolen by Sinn Féin

S Mick Clifford: MacSwiney’s legacy is being stolen by Sinn Féin

Next Sunday, Terence MacSwiney’s grave is set to be robbed in the name of rewriting history. The graverobbing will be metaphoric but is worthy of comment.

Ceremony of reconciliation

S Fergus Finlay: Donohoe complaints and ‘tax cut’ cries just FG brand assertion

Cork honours two brave sisters who risked their lives in War of Independence

Cork honours two brave sisters who risked their lives in War of Independence

McDonald calls for Citizens' Assembly on reunification at Liam Lynch centenary

McDonald calls for Citizens' Assembly on reunification at Liam Lynch centenary

History - War of Independence

Men of the South: A virtual reality take on iconic War of Independence painting

Men of the South: A virtual reality take on iconic War of Independence painting

David Keating - grandson of original artist Seán Keating - is one of the people involved in Sit Stand Smoke, a VR project that explores the iconic painting at Crawford Art Gallery in Cork

The Pogues

‘It meant so much to him’: Shane MacGowan’s wife on the hunt for his missing Easter Rising rifle

Michael Collins' mislaid umbrella goes on display in West Cork museum

Michael Collins' mislaid umbrella goes on display in West Cork museum

Ancient human remains found in Northern Ireland

The bog is where forensics and archaeology meet to solve ‘cold cases’

History - Michael Collins

Mattie McGrath and Michael Collins in heated exchange after Dáil upheaval

Mattie McGrath and Michael Collins in heated exchange after Dáil upheaval

Tipperary TD compared Michael Collins to the Irish revolutionary of the same name, describing both as traitors from West Cork

Rhasidat Adeleke 27/8/2024

More lifelong consequences can deter athletes from doping, insists Adeleke

Taoiseach set to address rise of the far right at annual Michael Collins oration

Taoiseach set to address rise of the far right at annual Michael Collins oration

Co-founder of Women's Aid and long-serving MEP Mary Banotti dies aged 84

Co-founder of Women's Aid and long-serving MEP Mary Banotti dies aged 84

History - Women at War

Clodagh Finn: An advent calendar of women to celebrate

Clodagh Finn: An advent calendar of women to celebrate

Here's a brief introduction to 24 women from the ancient to recent past who will inspire you

Clodagh Finn: A West Cork wartime heroine who fought against the Nazis

S Clodagh Finn: A West Cork wartime heroine who fought against the Nazis

Clodagh Finn: Queen Scotia, the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh who went to war outside Tralee

S Clodagh Finn: Queen Scotia, the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh who went to war outside Tralee

Clodagh Finn: Hitting a high note for ordinary women

Clodagh Finn: Hitting a high note for ordinary women

Good Friday Agreement

Good Friday Agreement

Letters to the Editor: Ireland is well-placed to build world peace

A reader points to the Good Friday Agreement as inspiration for Ireland to protect its neutrality and help build international dialogue

Omagh Bombing Inquiry

S Mick Clifford: No room for closure when history is rewritten

Northern Ireland records released

State papers: British lord 'too bitchy' to lead north-south negotiations

State papers: IRA and Sinn Féin leaders were ‘paralysed’ by 2003 Stakeknife revelations

State papers: IRA and Sinn Féin leaders were ‘paralysed’ by 2003 Stakeknife revelations

History - Cork at War

How the dissolution 100 years ago of Cork Corporation led to our local government system today

How the dissolution 100 years ago of Cork Corporation led to our local government system today

The country’s first City Manager was appointed in Cork in 1929 and effectively saw the sharing of power between the manager and the elected council

Plaque honouring Michael Collins unveiled in London

Plaque honouring Michael Collins unveiled in London

Back to the future: Cork City planner laid the foundations for a better city in 1922

Back to the future: Cork City planner laid the foundations for a better city in 1922

Eoin Hahessy: de Valera and Mannix forged an unlikely bond that helped shape Ireland

Eoin Hahessy: de Valera and Mannix forged an unlikely bond that helped shape Ireland

History - The Changemakers

The Changemakers: The woman who took on the State – and won access to contraception for all

The Changemakers: The woman who took on the State – and won access to contraception for all

When Customs officials seized the spermicidal jelly mother-of-four May McGee had ordered from the UK on the advice of a doctor, she was livid and took action that led to lasting change, writes Clodagh Finn

The Changemakers: Fitness pioneer who brought women into the public sphere

The Changemakers: Fitness pioneer who brought women into the public sphere

The Changemakers: Cork champion of the underdog, Maureen Curtis Black

The Changemakers: Cork champion of the underdog, Maureen Curtis Black

The Changemakers: Eileen Costello's inspirational journey from workhouse to Senate

The Changemakers: Eileen Costello's inspirational journey from workhouse to Senate

History - Bloody Sunday

Sir Keir Starmer Ireland visit

Irish legal action against British government over Legacy Act remains, says Harris

Taoiseach said: 'We exercised every diplomatic, political avenue possible but unfortunately it wasn’t possible to convince the then-British Government of the need to stop'

Bloody Sunday 50th anniversary

Pre-trial rulings due in Bloody Sunday prosecution of Soldier F

Books are my business: Writer and farmer John Connell

Books are my business: Writer and farmer John Connell

Bloody Sunday

Halted prosecution of Soldier F over Bloody Sunday murders to resume

Other History

Clodagh Finn: Meet Josie MacAvin — Ireland’s unsung Oscar-winning set designer

Clodagh Finn: Meet Josie MacAvin — Ireland’s unsung Oscar-winning set designer

Josie MacAvin, Ireland’s only Oscar and Emmy-winning set designer, left a legacy now proudly displayed at the Irish Film Institute

Sat, 01 Mar, 2025

Cork friends travel back in time as they recreate photo more than 50 years on

Cork friends travel back in time as they recreate photo more than 50 years on

The former students, then in their mid-teens, featured in an article published in 1973, in the 'Cork Examiner'

Fri, 21 Feb, 2025

Vatican has no record of having mythical crown of Brian Boru in its possession

Vatican has no record of having mythical crown of Brian Boru in its possession

Medieval Irish history professor at Trinity College Dublin, Seán Duffy, that while a crown specifically may not rest in the Vatican, there could be some artifact belonging to Brian Boru contained within the Holy See’s reliquary

Fri, 21 Feb, 2025

Ballymacombs More Woman

Bog body 'one of the most important archaeological discoveries on the island of Ireland'

Ancient human remains uncovered in a Derry bog are believed to belong to a young woman who lived around 2,000 years ago

Thu, 20 Feb, 2025

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Clodagh Finn: A hymn to aunts, unheralded superpowers

These women did incredible things. They worked, they raised families, they challenged the status quo or, better still, they showed us how to make the most of living within it

Sat, 15 Feb, 2025

Clodagh Finn: An African wedding, three funerals, and a suitcase of lost letters

Clodagh Finn: An African wedding, three funerals, and a suitcase of lost letters

When Irish missionary Olive Archer finally arrived at her destination after a four-week canoe journey down the River Luapula in central Africa, her fiancé jumped from his bed and ran to meet her in his pyjamas.

Sat, 08 Feb, 2025

Gareth O'Callaghan: The changing face of Amsterdam — why locals are pushing back against sex and drug tourism

Gareth O'Callaghan: The changing face of Amsterdam — why locals are pushing back against sex and drug tourism

Amsterdam’s locals are growing tired of sex and drug tourism. Is it time for the city to change course?

Sat, 08 Feb, 2025

Researchers use AI to read ancient scroll burned to a crisp in Vesuvius eruption

Researchers use AI to read ancient scroll burned to a crisp in Vesuvius eruption

Writing on PHerc. 172 papyrus, found at Roman mansion in Herculaneum, revealed after 3D X-rays and software competition

Thu, 06 Feb, 2025

Clodagh Finn: Olive’s African odyssey — a canoe, crocodiles, and a love story

Clodagh Finn: Olive’s African odyssey — a canoe, crocodiles, and a love story

In 1926, Irish missionary Olive Archer, age 28, boarded a canoe and set off on the crocodile-infested waters of the Luapula river in central Africa to join her husband-to-be Patrick Kerr Dixon, an Irish doctor and missionary in what is now the ...

Sat, 01 Feb, 2025

DNA results to confirm if remains of Limerick war hero Patrick Sarsfield have been found

DNA results to confirm if remains of Limerick war hero Patrick Sarsfield have been found

Patrick Sarsfield is best known for his defence of Limerick against the forces of William of Orange back in 1690, in an event now known as the Siege of Limerick

Fri, 31 Jan, 2025

An international search for the remains of Irish war hero Patrick Sarsfield

An international search for the remains of Irish war hero Patrick Sarsfield

There are reasons to be optimistic that the remains of Irish war hero Patrick Sarsfield will be identified, writes Clodagh Finn

Fri, 31 Jan, 2025

US JFK

S Terry Prone: While laying a conspiracy theory to rest, let’s bring back media impartiality

RFK Jr, Trump’s pick as health secretary, claims that Lee Harvey Oswald was working for the CIA when he killed his uncle

Mon, 27 Jan, 2025

Picture taken 12 January 2005 shows the

Remembering two brave Cork women who saved hundreds from Nazi terror

Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on Monday, it is fitting to recall two Cork women who saved hundreds of people from Nazi terror

Sat, 25 Jan, 2025

Clodagh Finn: The Siberian diary of 13-year-old Anna Whitney

Clodagh Finn: The Siberian diary of 13-year-old Anna Whitney

The 10-page account of her travels in May 1908 is the work of a sensitive, eloquent observer, wise beyond her years

Sat, 25 Jan, 2025

Events planned to mark International Holocaust Memorial Day

Events planned to mark International Holocaust Memorial Day

There are a range of other as well as television and radio coverage on RTÉ and BBC

Fri, 24 Jan, 2025

Clodagh Finn: Comic genius of Maureen Potter should be celebrated

Clodagh Finn: Comic genius of Maureen Potter should be celebrated

A Potter centenary might prompt some general discussion on the lack of visibility of Irish women in the streets of our cities, towns, and villages

Sat, 18 Jan, 2025

The museum on top of centuries' worth of burials that has dentures made of dead men's teeth

The museum on top of centuries' worth of burials that has dentures made of dead men's teeth

The Irish Wake Museum in Waterford indulges Irish people’s fascination with death and all its customs, writes Sarah Horgan

Mon, 13 Jan, 2025

Clodagh Finn: The Irish shop worker who became an Italian princess

Clodagh Finn: The Irish shop worker who became an Italian princess

The next time you are in Rome, recall Rosemary Barrett-Murphy who led a rich and varied life

Sat, 11 Jan, 2025

David Norris outside the Four Courts

1985 revisited: When festering tensions between the State and Church finally came to a head

‘Moral civil war’ was fought in abortion and divorce referenda and contraception legislation, writes TP O’Mahony

Sun, 05 Jan, 2025

Clodagh Finn: Meet Pablo, ‘the flying African’ acrobat from Cork

Clodagh Finn: Meet Pablo, ‘the flying African’ acrobat from Cork

ROLL up! Roll up! Meet Pablo Paddington, the 19th-century circus acrobat whose many monikers reveal the most intriguing tale.

Sun, 05 Jan, 2025

1985 revisited: Ballinspittle's moving statue — ‘We weren’t expecting what we saw’

1985 revisited: Ballinspittle's moving statue — ‘We weren’t expecting what we saw’

Ellie O’Byrne revisits one of county Cork’s strangest phenomena: a statue of the Virgin Mary that, in 1985, drew enormous crowds because witnesses believed they had seen it moving

Sat, 04 Jan, 2025

Mick Clifford: Mid-80s the darkest hour for Ireland before the slow rising dawn of peace

Mick Clifford: Mid-80s the darkest hour for Ireland before the slow rising dawn of peace

Despite violence and unemployment dominating public life, there is an alluring sheen to 1985, writes Mick Clifford

Sat, 04 Jan, 2025

FILE PHOTO Joanne Hayes and her siblings are seeking for the High Court to overturn any findings of wrongdoing against her and h

1985 revisited: Baby’s body on beach in Kerry led to 82-day inquiry

Forty years on, our writers look back at some of the scandals and stories that made the headlines and helped shape the Ireland of today

Fri, 03 Jan, 2025

1985 revisited: 'Cork has every imaginable claim to fame' — City's 800th year celebrated

1985 revisited: 'Cork has every imaginable claim to fame' — City's 800th year celebrated

1985 was a historic year for Cork, marking 800 years since it was granted a charter by Prince John in 1185. A year-long celebration to mark the 800 years was officially launched by the president. Maurice Gubbins was there for the then Cork Examiner

Fri, 03 Jan, 2025

1985 revisited: The night chaos erupted in Cork's ‘Alcatraz-type’ Spike Island prison

1985 revisited: The night chaos erupted in Cork's ‘Alcatraz-type’ Spike Island prison

On the night of August 31, 1985 prisoners at Spike Island rioted, setting fire to prison buildings before making their way on to the roof. This is the original report from the then Cork Examiner

Fri, 03 Jan, 2025

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HISTORY COLLECTION

Read our series of history supplements celebrating the decade of centenaries

War of Independence Podcast

A special four-part series hosted by Mick Clifford

Available on
www.irishexaminer.com/podcasts

Commemorating 100 years since the War of Independence

The Burning of Cork

Longread

We look at the historical context and reproduce the original report from our archives which details one of the darkest days in the city's history.

Commemorating 100 years since the War of Independence