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Canon Sheehan's 1901 novel Luke Delmege contains a rare contemporary fictional depiction of a Magdalene laundry.

Canon Sheehan, the Magdalene Laundries and Irish incarceration

History • 20 Jan

US vice president Charles Curtis opening the 1932 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles. Photo: Universal History Archive/ Univers via Getty Images

The story of America's first multi-racial vice-president

Brainstorm • 18 Jan

Edward Jenner: even though the term didn't exist then, he was still describing the zoonotic origins of smallpox, and associating those origins with his contemporary, consumer economy.

What can Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccine tell us about Covid?

History • 13 Jan

"Frank Broome played for Shels from February to April 1955 and earned £5 per week, though a newspaper reported that it cost an additional £10 a week to fly him from Birmingham to Dublin and back home again". Photo: Aston Villa FC

The story of the Shelbourne player and Hitler's Nazis

History • 12 Jan

"Undoubtedly, Mrs Doyle from Father Ted spoke for vast swathes of Irish people when, disgusted by the TeaMaster salesman who assured her that his contraption took the misery out of making tea, she retorted, 'Maybe I like the misery.'"

What's behind the Irish obsession with death and misery?

History • 07 Jan

Apollo points the way: "while not afraid of warfare, Apollo was a purifier, able to cleanse those stained with even the blood of their relatives". Photo: Getty Images

What can leaders learn in uncertain times from Greek gods?

Leadership • 06 Jan

Gallery visitors examine a Hilary Heron sculpture at the Living Art Exhibition at the National College of Art, Dublin in 1963. Photo: RTÉ Stills Library

The fascinating life and work of Irish artist Hilary Heron

History • 08 Jan

Anti-internment protesters outside the House of Commons in London in 1971. Photo: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/ CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

How an Armagh court ruled internment was unlawful in 1972

History • 05 Jan

"The custom was that women made social calls to the homes of their friends and neighbours and enjoyed tea and the last of the Christmas cake". Photo: George Marks/Getty Images

The roots and traditions of Nollaig na mBan

Ireland • 06 Jan

"If lucky, those in the Cairn may witness the sunlight snaking its way through the lightbox up the ancient path to penetrate the centre of this stunning architectural monument to a magnificent feat of nature."

How to mark the Winter Solstice's shortest day and longest night

Winter Solstice • 17 Dec 20

Protesters outside Mountjoy Jail in 1920. Photo: RTÉ Archive

How 1920 was one of the bloodiest years in Irish history

Brainstorm • 17 Dec 20

The aftermath of the Provisional IRA ambush at Warrenpoint in 1979 which killed 18 British soldiers

A short history of the many groups who've claimed to be the IRA

History • 16 Dec 20

Holyhead dockers move cargo from railway vans to the hold of a waiting ferry bound for Ireland in 1938. Photo: SSPL/Getty Images

How Ireland and Britain ended up in an Economic War in the 1930s

History • 11 Dec 20

People cleaning up the destruction from the burning of Cork by British forces in December 1920. Photo:
George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images

How the 1920 burning of Cork was covered abroad

History • 11 Dec 20

Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington was one of many Irish women who availed of the opportunity to be a judge in the Dáil courts

How Irish women played a key role in the 1920s' Dáil courts

History • 11 Dec 20

"It was little wonder given crimes of this nature that one newspaper commented in 1849 that 'society seems to have been shattered to pieces'."

Ireland in the 1840s: 'one of the most dangerous places on earth'

The Great Irish Famine • 07 Dec 20

Could Epsom or Glauber salts be the way for James Horan and Mayo to finally bury the curse at the weekend?

The science of winning an All-Ireland final 100 years ago

Sport • 14 Dec 20

Reaction in 1973 to the publication of a report by the first Commission on the Status of Women in Ireland. Photo: RTÉ Stills Library

The story of Ireland's First Commission on the Status of Women

History • 02 Dec 20

"The legacy of AIDS in Ireland has left a long imprint upon its society and culture"

Remembering Ireland's early AIDS history

World AIDS Day • 01 Dec 20

"While island-wide in terms of its impact, the Famine was particularly devastating for those counties in the west and south of the country" Photo: Corbis via Getty Images

Why you need to watch this new documentary on the Great Famine

The Great Irish Famine • 01 Dec 20

King George V and Queen Mary arrive for the opening of the Northern Ireland parliament in June 1921. Photo: Daily Mirror/ Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images

The partition of Ireland: chaos, secrecy and confusion

History • 27 Nov 20

A selection of Frank Murray's wartime diary entries

The Belfast doctor who used Gaeilge to outwit Japanese captors

History • 27 Nov 20

Bobby Kennedy on the campaign trail: "After JFK's death, the political career of his brother came to be of interest." Photo: Wally McNamee /Corbis via Getty Images

From racism to politics, how Irish diplomats saw 1960s' America

History • 26 Nov 20

"The past year has demonstrated how quickly infectious diseases can spread in an interconnected world"

How the movement of people has always spread infections

Coronavirus • 25 Nov 20

Sinn Féin's TDs line up after the 2020 general election

A guide to the many groups who've used the Sinn Féin name

Politics • 25 Nov 20

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