Global plagues and slumps leave human misery in their wake, but can also lead to major economic reforms, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

Some Irish themed films to indulge in over the next few days.

Since the mass emigration of the Famine, Ireland’s poorest families were sent monies by their overseas relatives, says Evan Comerford

Robert Hume, author of The Hidden Lives of Jack the Ripper’s Victims, unearths the extraordinary rags-to-riches-to-rags tale of Mary Jane Kelly (‘Ginger’), who fell prey to the infamous killer

Oscar-winning Hollywood icon Jeremy Irons has given his time free of charge to help a heritage centre produce a series of short films detailing harrowing, true stories of the Great Famine in Skibbereen, Co Cork.

Donnacha O’Dennehy’s opera looks at a surprisingly neglected era, writes Alan O’Riordan.

On the eve of Connemara’s Omey island races, relatives of islanders have initiated a petition seeking the urgent return of bones removed during an archaeological excavation.

From Galway to Listowel, these are weeks filled by racing festivals.

When this newspaper was first published 178 years ago Ireland was on the cusp of An Drochshaol — our Great Famine.

Two spectacular stained glass windows depicting a series of historical and cultural ‘turning points’ over some 700 years in a West Cork town, have gone on display in the local church.

Though it is more than 170 years since our Great Famine — an Gorta Mór — began its evisceration, it persists as a powerful presence in our consciousness.

Throughout his visit to Ireland, many females rallied to help former slave Frederick Douglass in his campaign for abolition, writes Robert Hume.

Illustrated by Richard Mills, this compendium by Jo Kerrigan takes us on journeys some may never have known existed. It’s a historical travelogue that will inspire explorers, writes Majella Flynn

The Cork artist whose 6m steel feather tribute to the Native American Choctaw people attracted worldwide praise is about to ship his latest creation to its new home in Australia.

In just one week in February 1847, 49 residents of Cork Workhouse died of hunger and dysentery. Visitors to the city recorded their shock at the sight of the dead and dying in doorways and ‘ragged spectres’ of people begging in the streets.

Young women stand up and fight — that is the rousing cry of barrister and owner of Lissadell House, Constance Cassidy.

We need a smaller beef herd and an emphasis in dairy on premium products like cheese and ice-cream, writes Victoria White

When Leo Varadkar sits down with Donald Trump in the White House today he either can smile and nod or he can take the opportunity to raise important but difficult issues such as LGBT rights.

It was a case of “I’ll be back” when Taoiseach Leo Varadkar met the Terminator in Texas.

The Taoiseach is to travel to Oklahoma to thank the Choctaw nation for providing relief to Ireland during the Great Famine, more than 170 years after members of the nation of Native Americans donated to those starving 7,000km away here.

The Irish flag is marking a significant milestone today.

A Tipperary family’s collection of photos offers a glimpse into life a century ago, writes John G Dwyer.

My grand-uncle drilled with the UVF in Donegal in 1912, writes Victoria White.

The weekly fun and games that flows from RTÉ’s Ireland’s Greatest Sporting Moment programme is a timely reminder of the importance of athletics in Irish sporting history. 

IN a saner world it might be possible to say that this was the week that some Brexit chickens came home to roost but we do not know if we are dealing with chickens, cockatoos, parakeets or even a rejuvenated púca resplendent in Halloween battledress. 

It's either a feast or a famine, as the saying goes. But the Government delivered a little bit of both during its Cabinet meeting in Cork today.

As the Atlas Of The Irish Revolution hits bookshops, contributor Oliver O’Hanlon looks at the coverage of the conflict by overseas artists and journalists.

THE Wild Atlantic Way tourism initiative is obviously a success, well planned and executed, paying dividends to the geographically marginalised communities through which it passes, writes Damien Enright.

The chief of an Native American nation and a number of his people will be special guests at the official unveiling of a magnificent eagle feather sculpture which commemorates the generosity of his forebears to the Irish during the Great Famine.

FOR generations we have known the Great Famine as the Irish Holocaust. 

The State’s formal recognition of Irish Travellers as an indigenous ethnic minority is an historic day for Ireland.

John Dolan provides an insight into the brilliance of Henry Ford, whose confidence in his ability and approach to business made him one of the world’s wealthiest men.

European nations failing to respond to their humanitarian obligations to refugees should learn the lessons of the Irish Famine, President Michael D Higgins said.

 

This novel use of the safety pin is an odd indirect outcropping of Britain’s decision to leave the EU, writes Terry Prone

Public service may well be in the genes for US vice president Joe Biden, judging by his ancestor’s contribution to Famine relief in Ireland.

Hopefully, your correspondent (Irish Examiner, Letters, March 28) Diarmuid P Ó Luasa’s subtle but magnificent irony will not be lost on Ms Ruth Dudley Edwards.

Ryle Dwyer reads the argument that the Irish uprisings of the first decades of the 20th century were a series of civil conflicts, not wars, and they were essentially between Irish people.

A wealth of fascinating detail can be seen on this archive photo taken on a sunny summer's day in Skibbereen in 1912.