Eibhlin O'Neill's blog

Emain Macha (Navan Fort) is a large circular Iron Age earthwork on top of a hill close to the city of Armagh (Irish: Ard Mhacha) in the north of Ireland.  For centuries it was home to the kings and queens of Ulster, which is one of the four historic Irish provinces. Archaeologists, who have been studying the site over recent years,  believe they have now found physical evidence that Emain Macha  could have been in use as early as the 4th Century BC.

Inishbofin (Inis Bó Finne) is a small island off the coast of Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. Under cover of darkness on 16 July 1890 academics Alfred Cort Haddon and Andrew Francis Dixon removed partial skeletal remains of 13 people. They were taken for the purposes of studying craniometry and had remained on display or in storage at Trinity College in Dublin since that time. It is thought the remains date from the mid-16th to mid-17th centuries, with the oldest dated to around 1550.

The illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank began in 1967 when Israeli forces captured and occupied the territory, including East Jerusalem. Since then Israel, in contravention of international law, has established numerous Jewish settlements throughout the West Bank. The United Nations Security Council has been categorical in stating that settlements in that territory are a "flagrant violation of international law". The creation and ongoing expansion of the settlements have led to Israel's policies being criticized as an example of settler colonialism.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; Irish: Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann) has apologised to the 'Hooded Men' over their treatment under interrogation in 1971. The 14 men were arrested during internment without trial and questioned by the police and the Army and due to their method of torture became known as the 'Hooded Men'. The UK Supreme Court ruled several years ago that the methods used on them at the time amounted to torture by today's standards.

When the the polls in Northern Ireland's local elections closed on Thursday no one predicted the surge of support for Sinn Féin.  After a two-day count they took 144 seats across the 11 councils, an increase of 39 councillors. They have become the biggest party in Northern Ireland local government. Sinn Féin, which backs Irish unity, swept past the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) and became the first nationalist party to hold the most council seats. Delivering what some have described as  "a political and psychological blow to unionism".

Seán Keane, fiddle player with The Chieftains, has died on 7 May 2023 at the age of 76. The Irish Traditional Music Archive described Mr Keane as "one of the greatest ever exponents of Irish traditional music". Amongst those paying tribute was the President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins. He said Seán Keane’s "incredible talent as a fiddle player brought so much joy to so many and was enjoyed and admired by audiences all over the world".

Saint Patrick is the primary patron saint of Ireland and Saint Patrick's Day is observed on 17th March, which is said to be the date of his death. Celebrated inside and outside Ireland as a religious and cultural holiday, it is also a celebration of Ireland and all things Irish. Patrick was a 5th Century missionary, who came from Roman Britain and first arrived in Ireland as a slave. Patrick tells us he came from an area called Bannevam Taburniae.

An Irish team has set a new record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by a team of five rowers. The team; Tom Nolan, Diarmuid Ó Briain, Shane Culleton, Gearoid O'Briain and Derek McMullen, set off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands on 12 December 2022. They reached Antigua in 33 days 12 hours and 38 minutes crossing the finish line in the The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge on 14th January. They broke the previous record of 35 days 19 hours and 50 minutes, set in 2020. 

MPs in the House of Commons have approved plans to bolster the official status of the Irish language in Northern Ireland (Irish: Tuaisceart Éireann). The proposed law aims to create new protections for the Irish language in the north of Ireland. The legislation will give the Irish language official status. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland. 

A memorial wall in Dublin's Glasnevin Cemetery is to be "discontinued" after it was physically attacked for a third time. Dublin Cemeteries Trust has stated that : "it is the firm view of Dublin Cemeteries Trust that if the wall were to be repaired for a third time it would be vandalised again." The memorial wall was always controversial after being first unveiled in April 2016, during the centenary commemoration of the Easter Rising.