THE story of the Hales brothers involved two cataclysmic events that had profound impacts on the Civil War in 1922. 

The centenary of the Battle of the Somme recalls the futility of war, writes Ryle Dwyer

On hearing the shelling stop, the Long Fellow waved the white flag, writes Ryle Dwyer

Some say we should forget about wars. However, rather than glorify or celebrate them, we should remember every gory detail to try to prevent further conflicts, writes Ryle Dwyer

Austin Stack was blamed by many for the disaster that befell the German guns plan in Kerry, but he played a key role later in the first Dáil, writes Ryle Dwyer

A lack of German support, despite the arms shipment, led Roger Casement to try to warn Volunteer leaders to abandon the Rising, but his message arrived too late, writes Ryle Dwyer

Ronan Fanning describes Éamon de Valera’s behaviour in the immediate aftermath of the Treaty as petulant, inflammatory, ill judged, and profoundly undemocratic. Ryle Dwyer says this is a fair and balanced assessment.

BRENDAN O’DONOGHUE, former secretary general of the Department of Environment and Local Government, has written a magnificent assessment of the career of one of his predecessors during the period before independence. 

On the 40th anniversary of Éamon de Valera’s death, his biographer Ryle Dwyer examines the changing perceptions of the long fellow including why he was called a spy.

Ryle Dwyer says Bitter Freedom is, a thoughtful and balanced history that exposes the need to be wary about what actually happened around 1916 before we engage in an unquestioning orgy of centenary celebrations. 

In July we had our first opportunity to come to Ireland for four and a half days and spend three of them in County Cork. 

On the 50th anniversary of the repatriation of Roger Casement’s remains, Ryle Dwyer contends that perfection is not a requirement of patriotism.

The life and death of Fenian Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa will be marked in his native West Cork this summer, a century after his Dublin funeral proved a rallying cry for the 1916 Rising.

R.F. Foster

John M Regan

The Republic: The Fight for Irish Independence

AFTER completing my doctoral dissertation on Irish neutrality, Tim Pat Coogan, the then editor of The Irish Press, wrote that his newspaper would be interested in publishing a series of articles based on the papers of David Gray, the American wartime minister to Ireland, but he added his own health warning.

Diarmuid Lynch: A Forgotten Irish Patriot

Fatal Path: British Government and Irish Revolution 1910-1922

During the first half of the last century, 163 people were officially executed throughout the island — 149 in the 26 counties, and 14 in the North.

Last Wednesday marked the 90th anniversary of the death of Michael Collins. Ryle Dwyer on a new book on his decisive role in the Anglo-Irish War

THE tension in Ireland over seizing Unionist hostages in the North was raised considerably on Feb 11, 1922, when the IRA in Clones, Co Monaghan, clashed with a group of 19 Ulster Special Constables (USC), travelling from Belfast to Enniskillen by rail.

There are plans to make final diving preparations today to raise the anchors of the Aud, the arms ship scuttled in Cork Harbour on Easter Saturday 1916.

There have been some complaints that the visit of Queen Elizabeth II was not necessary at this time, and some people have cited the cost of providing security as justification for their opposition.

OH, this age of austerity business is proving very difficult for the great and the good to get used to.

Renegades: Irish Republican Women 1900-1922

FIANNA Fáil and Fine Gael could be standing together outside the GPO for the centenary of the Easter Rebellion in little over five years time, according to Leo Varadkar.

Brian Barton

DURING the week RTÉ televised a fascinating documentary on of the discovery in Dublin of the priceless Caravaggio painting, The Betrayal of Christ. Its whereabouts had been a mystery for more than 200 years before it was found hanging in the dining room of the Jesuits’ house on Leeson Street, where it had been for some 60 years.

Prison officers last night forcibly removed a group of republican inmates who barricaded themselves into a dining hall at the North’s top security jail.

Republican prisoners who have barricaded themselves into a dining hall at the North’s top security jail continued their protest today.

THE author of England’s Greatest Spy: Eamon de Valera was interviewed by John Green on Radio Kerry during the week. The 470-page book, by John J Turi, will not be published until the last day of November so it is not possible to comment on it.

Tuesday marks the 90th anniversary of WW1 and here historian and journalist, Ryle Dwyer, argues why it should mark the beginning of a new understanding and respect for the 200,000 Irishmen who fought and the 38,000 who died in one of the world’s most horrendous conflicts.

There is the salary of the president and her staff, the cost of the upkeep of the Áras and its staff, providing the president with a car, a driver, and a police escort car, as well as extravagant pensions for former presidents, and ultimately the cost of their state funerals.

An TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern came under some strong personal criticism yesterday from a protester who complained that Mr Ahern was not fit to commemorate the men and women of the Easter Rebellion.

WHEN Roger Casement’s remains were returned to Ireland in 1965, the year before the golden jubilee of the Easter Rebellion, it was decided to erect a life-size statue of him by his grave in Glasnevin.

ON April 27, 1916, three days after Patrick Pearse stepped onto the portico of the General Post Office in Dublin to proclaim the new Irish Republic, 2,128 men of the 16th (Irish) Division suffered horrifically from a German gas attack.

THE oldest survivor of the War of Independence is opposed to this year’s Easter Rebellion commemoration - despite marching in many military parades over the years.

THE riot in Dublin last weekend was a grim reminder that Fianna Fáil came to power in 1997 promising zero tolerance on crime.

The Fianna Fáil party can become the true heirs to the 1916 Rising, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said tonight.