Military Aviation in Ireland 1921- 1945

This thesis initially sets out to examine the context of the purchase of two aircraft, on the authority of Michael Collins and funded by the second Dail, during the Treaty negotiations of 1921. The subsequent development of civil aviation policy including the regulation of civil aviation, the management of a civil aerodrome and the possible start of a state sponsored civil air service to Britain or elsewhere is also explained. Michael Collins’ leading role in the establishment of a small Military Air Service in 1922 and the role of that service in the early weeks of the Civil War are examined in detail. The modest expansion in the resources and role of the Air Service following Collins’ death is examined in the context of antipathy toward the ex-RAF pilots and the general indifference of the new Army leadership to military aviation. The survival of military aviation - the Army Air Corps - will be examined in the context of the parsimony of Finance, and the administrative traumas of demobilisation, the Anny mutiny and reorganisation processes of 1923/24. The manner in which the Army leadership exercised command over, and directed aviation policy and professional standards affecting career pilots is examined in the contexts of the contrasting preparations for war of the Army and the Government. The Air Corps’ active roles during the Emergency are assessed against the background of inadequate preparation, insufficient and inappropriate aircraft and improbable tasking by GHQ. Secondary roles in support of the RAF war effort are also elucidated. The Army’s investigation, into the inadequacies of the Air Corps, is examined against the background of the command exercised by an inexpert and disciplinarian officer. The investigation itself is assessed in order to highlight any the bias or prejudice that may have pertained

An archaeology of Irish cinema: Ireland's subaltern, migrant and feminist film cultures (1973-87)

This thesis examines the development of an Irish film avant-garde, from the mid 1970s to the late 1980s. The thesis argues that this period was marked by an historically specific intersection between Irish and international film cultures, which can be traced through contemporary film theory, cultural policy and critical practice. This period witnessed a revitalisation of indigenous production, and new initiatives in Irish arts policy, but many important Irish filmmakers trained or began their careers in London and New York, while others were supported by cultural and political agencies outside the state. The thesis focuses on the work of five filmmakers (Bob Quinn, Joe Comerford, Thaddeus O’Sullivan, Vivienne Dick and Pat Murphy) and on three key areas of intersection between Irish and international film culture, associated with the ‘subaltern’, migration and feminism. Through close readings of specific films, supported by interviews with selected filmmakers, distributors and archivists, the thesis develops an expanded model of practice, which extends beyond production to address issues of distribution and exhibition. This archaeology of Irish cinema is informed by post-structural critiques of the archive, as well as theories of the avantgarde, and it argues that the reception of Irish avant-garde film has been structured by the institutional discourses of the museum and the academy

A Land Fit for Heroes?: The Great War, Memory, Popular Culture, and Politics in Ireland Since 1914

Despite the fact that over 200,000 Irish men fought in the British Army during the First World War, Ireland\u27s sizeable contribution to the war remained in the shadows of history for most of the twentieth century. This dissertation examines the cultural components of the memory of the Great War in Ireland and argues that, taken together, they constitute an alternative Irish national identity that threatened and challenged republican nationalism. These cultural components existed in the realm of vernacular memory, which lay beyond the reach of the Irish government. By examining commemorative rituals, war memorials, and popular culture, this project breathes life into the vibrant and complex milieu of Great War memory in Ireland. Studying culture opens new avenues to explore questions relating to nationalism, memory, politics, and war. By tracking the changes to Great War memory throughout the twentieth, and into the twenty-first century, this study illustrates a sustained thread of shared history for all of Ireland, north and south, that transcends religious and political barriers and injects Ireland into a broader European context

The treatment of tuberculosis in Ireland from the 1890s to the 1970s a case study of medical care in Leinster

In the late nineteenth century tuberculosis was endemic in Ireland being responsible for more deaths than any other single cause. There was no medical cure for the disease, although various treatment regimes were tried, some with modest success. In the decade to 1891, 103,314 deaths were attributed to the disease, a ratio of one in every 8.5 deaths. By the late 1960s the contribution of tuberculosis to mortality statistics was insignificant. In 1970, 221 persons died from tuberculosis in the Republic of Ireland, a ratio of one in every 152.4 deaths. In terms of medical disease statistics, this fall in mortality was spectacular. This thesis sets out to explore what was behind this dramatic change. It will do so by examining in detail the key international and national developments pertaining to the treatment of tuberculosis. How did the international understanding of tuberculosis evolve and how did this in turn influence the development of facilities to manage the disease? What models of treatment were followed in Ireland and did they contribute to effecting the change? In what way did the political system retard or accelerate the process of change

The treatment of tuberculosis in Ireland from the 1890s to the 1970s a case study of medical care in Leinster

In the late nineteenth century tuberculosis was endemic in Ireland being responsible for more deaths than any other single cause. There was no medical cure for the disease, although various treatment regimes were tried, some with modest success. In the decade to 1891, 103,314 deaths were attributed to the disease, a ratio of one in every 8.5 deaths. By the late 1960s the contribution of tuberculosis to mortality statistics was insignificant. In 1970, 221 persons died from tuberculosis in the Republic of Ireland, a ratio of one in every 152.4 deaths. In terms of medical disease statistics, this fall in mortality was spectacular. This thesis sets out to explore what was behind this dramatic change. It will do so by examining in detail the key international and national developments pertaining to the treatment of tuberculosis. How did the international understanding of tuberculosis evolve and how did this in turn influence the development of facilities to manage the disease? What models of treatment were followed in Ireland and did they contribute to effecting the change? In what way did the political system retard or accelerate the process of change

What Are the Visible and Invisible Archaeologies of Conflict in the Irish Landscape of Donegal and How May These Be Contextualised and Represented Through Arts Practice

The research question - What are the visible and invisible archaeologies of conflict in the Irish landscape of Donegal and how may these be contextualised and represented through arts practice? has been addressed through textual and historical research and through arts practice, using lens-based media in the exploration of an historic series of military circumstances, in the contemporary Irish landscape of County Donegal. The research undertaken and the resulting outcomes are presented as a textual narrative and as visual arts practice. The thesis material is composed of five chapters, each of which discusses selected arguments in the fields of, respectively; the modification of human sight through opticality and the emergence of modern photography, origins of the geographical discipline and the visual influence on formations of cultural landscape, a contemporary archaeological approach to sites of conflict and examples of relevant artwork, and a characterisation and discussion of Ireland\u27s position of neutrality during the Second World War, including a critical review of the images produced on this topic. This fourth chapter is intended to function as context and framework for the fifth chapter, the re-imagining of the landscape through the arts practice, shown in the Arc of Fire website, which is composed of selected visual material from the live research phase and the site-specific exhibition installed in Fort Dunree in the Inishowen peninsula. The conclusions form the final part of the thesis. Photography and lens based processes, explored as a critical history and employed as a working method of my professional arts practice, is fundamental to the research project

Foreign Correspondents & the Irish Revolution 1918 - 1923

The Irish revolution of 1918-1923 not only led to the establishment of an independent Irish state; it is also recalled for the notoriety of the Black and Tans, the gendarmerie of war veterans recruited by the British government to fight a war of reprisals against the IRA. Historians have held that public perceptions of the war in Ireland were crucial to its outcome. In particular they cite critical press coverage as instrumental in turning the British public against the government's policy in Ireland. But there has been no study which thoroughly examines the work of journalists and writers who went to Ireland at this time. This thesis uses the published work of journalists and writers, evidence from archives in Britain, Ireland and the United States, journalists' memoirs and contemporary press criticism to explain the role journalists played in the conflict. It shows how British and American newspaper correspondents were able to report from Ireland with far greater freedom than they enjoyed during the First World War. Aided by their sympathy for the Irish cause and splits among the political elite in London, British correspondents set out to restore their reputation as crusading truth tellers by making visible practices of colonial warfare that would usually have remained hidden. American correspondents were enlisted by British officials as mediators. The war occurred in an age when the press and public opinion were thought to have a crucial influence on politics. Both the British government and the Irish revolutionaries tried to define the news. While examining the professional assumptions and rituals of the correspondents, the thesis examines the impact of wider political ideas on journalism. And it looks at how famous literary journalists used Ireland as a site for debates about their own societies

Re-housing the Urban Poor in Irish Country Towns, 1880-1947: A Case Study of Sligo

Despite the numerous works on the poor housing conditions of Irish famihes from the 1850s to the 1940s, little research has been conducted to date on the provincial Irish towns. In order to closer investigate the dreadful dwelling conditions endured by the Irish urban poor at the start of the twentieth century, this thesis examines the origin of poor-quality housing in Sligo, the rapid growth in population that led to its emergence, and the nature of political will, economic conditions, tenancies and landholdings which fostered its perpetuation until the 1940s. The case study examines, in overview, the housing situation in Sligo in comparison to other provincial towns of a similar size, and sets this against the national backdrop of the major changes in housing policies and practices after 1880, which culminated in the great public housing drive of the 1930s and 1940s. Housing-related health issues, such as infant mortality and infectious disease are examined in the light of the appalling housing conditions in Irish towns by 1914. The central question posed by this research was to ascertain if Sligo suffered from the problem of sub-standard insanitary housing to a greater or lesser extent than other similar sized Irish towns. A secondary aim was to evaluate the success of the post-1932 housing drive in Sligo, in relation to several other selected provincial towns, and to determine the degree to which Sligo benefited from this new departure in housing strategy after 1932. Crucially, the question will be asked if this unprecedented investment in subsidised public housing had a measurable impact on contemporary lifestyles, health, education and social improvement. From the statistical data gathered and analysed, it is clear that Irish provincial towns were home to slums that were every bit as bad as those found in the larger Irish cities. Substantial population growth and a meagre industrial base, combined with poor employment prospect in a largely subsistencebased agricultural economy, led to a drift of landless labourers to market towns, and the proliferation of cabin-type slums in all Irish provincial towns from the 1820s onwards. This situation was not to be resolved until the radical interventionist state polices of a native Irish government after 1932