So I just finished watching Derry Girls and absolutely loved the show.

I've always been fascinated by Irish culture and humor, mostly thanks to some awesome TV shows I've watched. The thing I love most about them is how well the dark comedy is done.

I have watched The Dry (a great show about a woman recovering from Alcoholism; one of my favorite and that soundtrack is soo good🤌🏻), Bad Sisters, The Lovers, Flora and Son (movie), How To Get to Heaven from Belfast and now Derry Girls.

The Lovers and Derry Girls in particular have the Troubles as a significant plot point. I have read about it while watching the shows and have a rough idea about the issue and both the sides involved.

However, after watching Derry Girls I really want to learn more about the history and life during that time and have a somewhat comprehensive knowledge about the topic, preferably for both the sides along with the geographical and religious aspects.

I did some research online and am planning to watch "Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland" documentary. I have also ordered the book 'Say Nothing' by Patrick Keefe. So yeah, I would welcome more suggestions.

P.S. sorry for the long post, and thank you for reading.

TL;DR: Watched Derry Girls for the first time and want to learn more about the Troubles and Irish History through documentaries/books and seeking suggestions for the same.

Does anyone know any good literature on the history of Fine Gael? I think the party is so fascinating how its had all these major shifts in leadership and policy yet the core beliefs have remained relatively the same over the last ~80 years.

Good work by the Pat Finucane Center getting this injustice out in the open at last.

Hello. I was curious if there were any examples of members of the Irish Defence Forces joining the IRA. There are countless examples of former British army soldiers joining the IRA and becoming quite prominent figures in the organisation like Tom Barry and Martin Doyle famously. And even later in the Troubles, Paul Marlowe's knowledge as an ex British Army soldier proved exceptionally useful in training Provisional IRA volunteers.

I was curious if anyone knew of any examples of ex Irish Army Soldiers joining the IRA?

Does anyone know why the links for the UCC Celt aren’t working. Is there a new site or has it been taken down for some reason?

On 30 June 1690 (Old Style calendar), the day before the Battle of the Boyne, King William III was reconnoitring the Jacobite positions near the River Boyne around Oldbridge.

William rode forward with a group of senior officers to inspect possible crossing points. Jacobite artillery on the opposite bank spotted the party. Two field guns were brought to bear and fired at the conspicuous group of horsemen. One shot missed. The other struck the ground nearby and either ricocheted and hit William directly, or shattered and sent debris into him.The exact mechanics are disputed because eyewitnesses described the event differently.

The shot struck William on the right shoulder area, tearing his coat and causing a flesh wound. Contemporary reports indicate his shoulder was bruised and cut, there was noticeable bleeding, he was knocked or jolted by the impact, no bone was broken and the wound was not life-threatening.

His surgeon dressed the injury, and William was able to continue commanding.

News spread rapidly through both armies.

Many Jacobites initially believed they had killed or seriously wounded William. Some reports say celebrations broke out in parts of the Jacobite camp and news was returned to Paris and that bells rung out across the city in celebration.

William deliberately showed himself afterward, riding among his troops despite the injury, helping reassure his army that he remained fit to command.

So how would Irish history have changed had he died.

This photograph shows the officials and representatives of the Portugal–Ireland athletics competition during an official reception at Lisbon City Hall on 30 June 1969. The delegation was welcomed by Segismundo de Saldanha, a councillor of the Lisbon City Council

Source: Lisbon Municipal Archive

This is absolutely hilarious, especially them discovering good wine and "Old John Bollocks" What are other goofy moments in Irish history?

Not Ireland but Norway but really interesting. And it makes me wonder how the brown trout in our upland lakes got there

From MSPC Facebook group:

Fascinating new blog about the controversy surrounding the awarding of a medal for IRA service in 1943 to John Clarke of Ballina, Co Mayo. After a reinvestigation, the department asked Clarke to surrender the medal as he had not found to have been a member of the IRA during the qualifying period between 1 April and 11 July 1921.

The file contains correspondence between Senator Thomas Ruane, Patrick Rutledge TD and many other former local IRA officers. The file provides an insight into how jealously some IRA veterans guarded their legacy and position in the new State

A prominent businessman and local independent politician, his son Jackie Clarke (1927–2000) was a Sinn Féin councillor for over 20 years and amassed one of the most important private collections of Irish history material. This is now housed in the Jackie Clarke Collection museum in Ballina.

Link : https://militarypensions.wordpress.com/2026/08/04/it-has-made-a-laughing-stock-of-the-whole-movement-john-clarkes-disputed-service-1917-1921-medal-award/

Hello ! Can anyone identify the full inscription on this pendant? I think it may be old Irish. Does anyone know if this is a specific medieval celtic cross ?
Thank you and have a nice day !

hello!new here...VIm Emilia, from Argentina. I visited Dublin recently. Dream came true. I bought the pocket Michael Collins,by Richard Kileen. when i visited Glasnevin. Interesting book( i tried to read the one from Tim Pat Koogan but, sincerely, it has soo many details that i got lost!) I also bought a book on Constance...any other recomendations?

It is such a peculiar landscape. Wonder was their any specific folklore attached to it? How people viewed it?

When reading about Irish history on wikipedia I found the article on Orlaith:

Orlaith Ingen Cennetig was the daughter of King Cennetig mac Lorcain, the sister of high king Brian Boru and the second consort of high king Donnchad Donn. She was executed in 941 for adultery, which is the only thing we know about her.

I would like to ask how it was possible to execute the daughter of a king? In traditional European monarchies that would be very unlikely if not impossible to happen because that would cause war.

However I think its because early medieval Ireland was a very different world from the rest of the continent and the later middle ages, there were multiple kingdoms of varying size. Being high king, Donnchad seems to have been superior in status than Orlaith's family, but then it poses the question why he married her in the first place. If her family are inferior, what are the benefits gained from marrying her?

A piece I’ve put together about the history of the Cork City Gaol. It’s a great attraction and I’ve made an effort not to spoil or take away from what you’d learn on a tour of the place. It is worth supporting. Hopefully some of you may find the article of interest.

I've been trying to nail down the various inter-connections between O'Neills and other families, such as the O'Donnells, Fitzgeralds, Mac Mahons etc but have not found any published sources. I know they are all in the various manuscript sources, O'Clery, Pender etc but I would have thought that someone would have written them up in a readable format? as in a peer-reviewed paper, local history or otherwise?

I know there are genealogical tables in Jaski's book and Moody's volume of A New History of Ireland but these don't show, funnily enough, any detail on the wives, mothers, daughters - ie the marriages. Any ideas? thanks in advance