On 23 November 2023 the Dublin inner city witnessed an outbreak of civil disorder not seen in decades. Shocking images of burning buses, a burning police car, and police in riot gear were reminiscent of Belfast during the Troubles. In an article I wrote for Pearls and Irritations I explore the context in which the rioting occurred, with particular reference to increased immigration.… Read the rest
Earlier this year, ABC Radio National broadcast in its ‘The History Listen’ series a program called ‘The Missing Magdalens’ about Australia’s Magdalen laundries. The program focussed on St Magdalen’s Retreat, Tempe, which the Sisters of the Good Samaritan ran from 1888 to 1980. In describing life at St Magdalen’s in the early twentieth century, the program relied on an article in the Watchman newspaper.… Read the rest