This talk by Dr Declan F. Brady, examines political life in Fingal in the aftermath of the Civil War and the challenges of the 1920s. As the government sought to consolidate the Irish Free State, local politicians in Fingal dealt with continuing divisions, problems of poverty, unemployment, and agrarian unrest. Note: This event will be...
A talk by broadcaster and author Dr David McCullagh. De Valera began 1922 as President of the Irish Free State. By early 1923 he was a hunted man, in danger of execution if caught by Free State forces, politically side-lined among republicans and powerless to end the Civil War. But in those darkest of days,...
Flor MacCarthy will discuss her best-selling book, The Presidents’ Letters, which was shortlisted for Best Irish-Published Book 2021. Eighty-five years of signatures are contained in the huge leather-bound Visitors' Books, revealing how Ireland has changed since the 1930s. To book, please click here.
John O’Brien, author of Securing the Irish State: A century of policing 1922 – 2022, outlines the evolution of An Garda Síochána and how this new and unarmed police force was established in the midst of a bloody civil war. Note: This event will also be available online post-festival. To book, please click here.