Weather Warning

Explore the Timeline

The War of Independence in Colour: Daring graffiti on a British armoured car

In his Old Ireland in Colour project, John Breslin adds colour to black and white photographs, allowing us to reimagine the past.

John Breslin

Colours of the past: how John Breslin transforms old photographs

Michael Portillo in Dáil Eireann

How the British authorities viewed the War of Independence

British soldiers guarding a train in Ireland, October 1920

The 1920 Munitions Strike: "An unusual kind of strike"

Captain Eileen McGrane

"Most Effective Women": The story of Eileen McGrane

De Valera in America: follow the tour that rocked Irish-America

Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family in the 1910s. (Image by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

How Russian crown jewels went from the Romanovs to Harry Boland

Crowds outside Mountjoy Prison show their support for IRA inmates. They may not have been representative of public opinion

What did the general public think of the War of Independence?

On November 27th 1920 the Irish Independent newspaper responds quickly to British propaganda, exposing the 'Battle of Tralee' as a British propaganda ploy. Image courtesy of National Library of Ireland

Censorship and propaganda: Media in the War of Independence

Unidentified young woman wearing Cumann na mBan pin. Image courtesy of National Library of Ireland

Cumann na mBan and the War of Independence

The Irish Revolution: watch the documentary series

Pictures of the Past.

An image from the exhibition

The National Library of Ireland presents From Turmoil to Truce

Women protesting outside Mountjoy Jail, Dublin in 1920.

In Pictures: Hunger Strikes and Protests

May Gibney in uniform Courtesy of Kilmainham Gaol Museum/OPW 19PO-1A22-27

Portraits and Pamphlets: A Cumann na mBan Gallery

The RIC

Mary McAulliffe on the changing role of the R.I.C. during the War of Independence

The RIC

Mary McAulliffe on the changing role of the R.I.C. during the War of Independence

The Dáil Ban

John Borgonovo on how the ban backfired on the British

The First Dáil

Helene O'Keeffe on the first TDs

Cumann na mBan

Helene O'Keeffe on the crucial role women played in the War of Independence

The History Show on RTE Radio 1

Bringing the past to life with Myles Dungan and guests

From the RTÉ Archives.

"Nothing Else Mattered": Sighle Humpreys of Cumann na mBan

What was it like to be involved in Cumann na mBan during its first revolutionary decade? In this 1984 interview, Sighle Humphreys shares her memories.

Earnán de Blaghd, Robert Barton and James Ryan (1969)

Standing For An Irish Parliament

Maire Comerford remembers the first meeting of the Dáil

Dan Breen on the Soloheadbeg ambush

About the War of Independence project

The War of Independence project is a partnership between RTÉ History, the Department of Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht and The Atlas of the Irish Revolution

RTE History.

World War 1

Gallipoli: An Irish Story

The 1916 Rising

History on Brainstorm.

Thousands attended the funeral of former Provisional IRA member, Bobby Storey, causing much controversy owing to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions

The troublesome world of paramilitary funerals

Pope Pius XI in his private study in the Vatican in 1922 before of the arrival of the Irish carpet. Photo: Getty Images

The story behind Ireland's 1931 gift of a carpet to the pope

Members of the Royal Irish Constabulary being inspected before duty at the Derry by-election in 1913. Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The uneasy relationship between unionists and the RIC

The time may be right for Fianna Fáil's Micheál Martin and Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to do the deal

The evolution of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael

Michael Collins (centre) and Éamon de Valera (right) with Harry Boland (left). Photo: Independent News And Media/Getty Images

Does the FF-FG deal finally mark the end of Civil War politics?

"Beards were a source of pride and led to nicknames such as Jutting-Beard, Silk-Beard and Old-Beardless"

The hairy history of beards

"By 1909, the London Great Central Parcels Office complained that it didn't have enough room in their "cold storage safe" for all the poorly labelled turkeys, which got lost in transit." Photo: Getty Images

How the Irish became food delivery pioneers in the 19th century

Life on Achill Island in 1920

Why we should remember the 1920 land seizures in Ireland

The Wexford Gaelic football team who won the delayed 1918 All-Ireland football final against Tipperary. Photo: GAA

How sport returned in Ireland after the 1918 flu pandemic

A woman IRA volunteer on active service in west Belfast with an AR18 assault rifle. Photo: Colman Doyle Collection/National Library of Ireland

The story behind an iconic Troubles' photo

Northern Ireland

Part of a memorial for George Floyd in Minneapolis. Photo: Getty Images

America's historical problem with racism

Frederick Douglass edits a journal at his desk, late 1870s. Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Were the Irish slaves? Frederick Douglass and his Irish awakening

Century Ireland

Discover the history of your land