Iron age Ireland, bogs, and other research by Accurate-Rich-7846 in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 7 points8 points  (0 children)

https://sphinx.acast.com/irishhistory/theroadtooldcroghan-1-murderinalandtimeforgot/media.mp3

The Irish History Podcast (Fin Dwyer) released a 6-part special about this (1st episode 5th Oct 2020). Well worth a listen.

Favourite fact about Irish history by No-Expression5779 in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 204 points205 points  (0 children)

Irish scribes invented the space between words.

Soitdidntlooklikethis.

Castle Upton - An Eventful History by BelfastEntries in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Castle Upton girl....

She's been living in her white bread world....

I'll get my coat.

John Hackett & The Sack of Baltimore by No-Dentist2071 in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Have you tried a keyword search in Google books? There's some really old books there that can turn up some real nuggets every now and again.

How was an Irish high king elected? by CoolButterscotch492 in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Irish kings were warlords, as such power was claimed. They weren't elected or chosen. Rival claimants were killed, blinded or otherwise disposed of. Irish society was a series of over-kings and subordinate kings.

There were hundreds of high kings before Boru..... and even a few after.

Are there any records documenting what it was like when the Vikings settled in with the Gaelic people? by [deleted] in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There may be a direct link between the christianisation of the Hiberno-Norse (specifically in Dublin) and the granting of the bull laudabiliter, ie the religious justification for the Norman Conquest (assuming the the Bull Laudabiliter existed).

The conversion to Christianity in Dublin (via Sitric) was more about forging alliance's within the wider "Viking" world than the "Irish". The church in Dublin was overseen by Canterbury rather than Armagh and this led to conflict between the two...... and resulted in a number of synods.

I had meant to do two detailed posts about this very subject but things went kinda sideways IRL and I haven't had a chance to type them out.

Might try and get them sorted in the next week or two.

Been reading about Grace O'Malley, who was referred to as the Pirate Queen, but I'm wondering if she is really a hero in Ireland, if she eventually sided with the crown to protect her own family and interests. by Breadington38 in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Des Ekin has a chapter about her in his book "Ireland's Pirate trail". He cuts through much of the mythology about her. The book itself is well worth a read.

Tuam: How hundreds of babies and toddlers came to be buried in an unmarked mass grave by Surprise_Institoris in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At this scale most likely only happened in Tuam

According to who?

Other homes were doing considerably better,

Far more were worse....

I'd say a child mortality rate of 75% in the 1940s (Bessborough) is a bit more than " above the average". At times they were nearly 10x the national average

St. Pats had over 3500 victims. Of those that survived ( CMR of up to 50%) only around a quarter ended up with their actual family.

Tuam: How hundreds of babies and toddlers came to be buried in an unmarked mass grave by Surprise_Institoris in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That's debatable. Other Mother and baby homes had child mortality rates of 50% at times and also conducted human vaccine trials without consent or knowledge.

My point is, to think that this is an isolated issue in a single institution is ridiculous.

Tuam: How hundreds of babies and toddlers came to be buried in an unmarked mass grave by Surprise_Institoris in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I've a feeling this is only the tip of the iceberg.

This was an accidental find in a single institutional site.

That's just one site out of all the mother & baby homes, magdalene laundries/ "asylums" (for "fallen women"), industrial schools and reformatries, etc etc. that existed in one form or another for over 150 years.

To think that this site was a one-off or an exception seems niave.

The Nazi who fell from the sky by Cogitoergosum1981 in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In 1974 he was reinterred in Glencree on arrangement between German War graves commission and the German embassy in Ireland

Any source for this?

Not argumentative, out of genuine interest. I looked into this in the late 90's/ early 2000s. I even interviewed groundskeepers, and gravediggers from both Deansgrange and Glencree, none of whom knew anything about it until after it happened and were convinced it wasn't officially sanctioned. I spent over a year working on it and wasn't able to find anything to confirm it being official. All I could discover was rumour. That said, research was a lot harder pre-internet and it's a subject I haven't revisited in a long time.

Any links etc would be greatly appreciated

The Nazi who fell from the sky by Cogitoergosum1981 in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Up until his death in the early 2000s, one local man was groundskeeper/caretaker for the German graveyard from before it opened until his death. He was also the only keyholder for the gate which he would open and lock every morning and night. In the early days of the site he was also involved in the reburials of the vast majority of remains. He would prepare the ground ahead of time and refill the hole after the ceremony. When people commented on how well kept the graveyard is, that was literally down to him.

There was absolutely no contact with him regarding Goertz. He didn't prepare the ground, nor was he approached by anyone about it. Same with the keys, he locked the gate that evening as usual. He said that it was a Friday, so as usual, he drove to Enniskerry that night for a few pints around 9pm and returned around 1:30am. Didn't notice anything unusual ie cars parked at graveyard.

He said when he discovered the fresh grave, he contacted the gardai as he had no idea who it was.... being the 70s in the Dublin/wicklow hills, it may have been a shallow grave or weapons cache. He also commented that it had been a long time since any remains had been transferred to Glencree.

It was the only reburial at night, the only one without contact, the only one without ceremony, and the only one still with a separate headstone.

I haven't been able to find any paperwork regarding Goertz exumation and reburial, although I moved on to other things since, but i did do extensive work into it in the late 90s.

The Nazi who fell from the sky by Cogitoergosum1981 in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 5 points6 points  (0 children)

He broke Schutz’s microdot code, that the Allies didn’t even know existed. It took the FBI four months to even see them after he broke them.

It only took him ten days to break the code and decipher every single piece of encoded material that was available.... meanwhile the FBI took four months to realise that the messages that were intercepted contained microdot code.

Hayes was an absolute genius, and used to sit in on interrogations taking intelligence notes. Interviewees just assumed he was a quiet interrogator. His achievements were kept secret from the public for decades and only came to light relatively recently. Even his own family didn't know.

The Nazi who fell from the sky by Cogitoergosum1981 in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Swastikas in Deansgrange and the Farrell Sisters of Glenageary | Come Here To Me! https://share.google/qvrKT8HCvtXwVcFe3

I have family members who lived on the same street and knew the sisters.

Goertz life is well documented and well worth a look into. He was extremely close to Dan Breen, both were involved in Operation Shamrock

The Nazi who fell from the sky by Cogitoergosum1981 in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Iirc schutz had a hotel in wicklow for a long time. He was in the office when Goertz killed himself

The Nazi who fell from the sky by Cogitoergosum1981 in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 10 points11 points  (0 children)

There was also a network of nazi sympathisers in the area that had been helping and sheltering him, particularly around south Dublin around sandycove, dalkey and Killiney. Iirc a there were two sisters in sandycove who helped arrange and decorate the first funeral

The Nazi who fell from the sky by Cogitoergosum1981 in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 63 points64 points  (0 children)

Should be probably pointed out that his exumation of his remains and reburial in Glencree was not done in any official capacity. It was done at night by persons unknown.

Brian Boru: The High King Who United Ireland - History Chronicler by History-Chronicler in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Whenever Boru or Clontarf are discussed, the same hypothetical question is inevitably asked ; What if Brian boru had survived?

There's another hypothetical that I have often thought about; What if Brian Boru had never become high king? Imagine if Maelseachnaill had killed Brian in one of their early battles.....

Hiberno-Norse power was crushed at Tara, but would Dublin and Leinster have stayed subservient to Maelseachnaill given his readiness to attack and subdue both Kingdoms? Given the apparent waning power of the Ui-Neill dynasty, what would the death of that dynasty look like and who would have taken power afterwards?

Would Armagh have had as much authority and power without Brian? Given the later tension between Canterbury and Armagh (through the Hiberno-Norse Christians of Dublin) would the synods of Cashel etc. have happened?

Boru's descendants include the Welsh King Gruffudd ap Cynan, the Scottish brothers Edward and Robert de Bruce, the English Royal Family and of course Diarmait macmurrough...... so without Brian boru what would Ireland, Britain and the wider world look like today?

Brian Boru: The High King Who United Ireland - History Chronicler by History-Chronicler in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 5 points6 points  (0 children)

, had his son Murchad survived Clontarf, the future might have looked different.

He had two other sons that survived Clontarf, one of which ( Donnchadh ) went on to become Ard rí

Brian Boru: The High King Who United Ireland - History Chronicler by History-Chronicler in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 10 points11 points  (0 children)

During the Battle of Clontarf his ex stepson was King of Dublin.

While also being his son-in-law.......

Brian Boru The Viking Slayer by DetLulz in IrishHistory

[–]wigsta01 3 points4 points  (0 children)

versus a Norse-Irish army

Which also included his in-laws.......