Author: History Team

Teddy Boys and Girls

By Danielle Ford The above photograph was taken from Ken Russell’s series ‘The Last of the Teddy Girls’, which historians can take as a chronicle of youth subcultures and an insight into the extent to which they were determined by gender. Russell’s collection is one of the first detailed studies of female subcultures in the… Continue reading Teddy Boys and Girls

Published
Categorized as History

Building the Future:The Second International Gay Youth Congress, 1985 Youth

By Daniel Gallen The National Gay Federation had been at the forefront of the struggle for Irish gay liberation in the 1970s and ‘80s, but gay and lesbian youths’ voices were largely absent from the activism of this era. Some within the NGF were concerned with the welfare of these young people, many of whom… Continue reading Building the Future:The Second International Gay Youth Congress, 1985 Youth

Mods in transition

By Derek Whelan Mods in transition In the late 1950’s some young Londoners began to follow the fashion and musical influences of American Jazz artists. Originally known as the ‘Modernists’ they became to be known as ‘Mods’. During the sixties their musical interests evolved into American rhythm and blues, soul, and Jamaican blue beat. Soho… Continue reading Mods in transition

‘A sadder sight it would be impossible to witness’: Criticism of the hiring fair and child labour in County Donegal in the early twentieth century.

By Megan McAuley ‘I recall the hiring fair in Letterkenny, when the small farmers’ sons and daughters were forced to offer themselves for auction to the ranchers in the Lagan Valley. They stood on the footpaths, had their muscles examined by the big farmers, and eventually were hired to them for a few paltry pounds… Continue reading ‘A sadder sight it would be impossible to witness’: Criticism of the hiring fair and child labour in County Donegal in the early twentieth century.

Charles Cameron’s bags of flies

By Ida Milne Sometimes, in the tedium of trawling through dry-as-dust official reports, we historians have a discovery that initially seems little more than an amusing distraction, but later casts a bright light on our topic. In 2016, while reading  the 1911 annual reports of  Dublin’s long-serving Medical Officer of Health Sir Charles Cameron in… Continue reading Charles Cameron’s bags of flies

Beatlemania, Mods and Hysterical Teenagers – Irish Style

By Ciara Molloy On 7 November 1963, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr performed two shows in the Adelphi Cinema on Middle Abbey Street to more than 5,000 Irish fans.[i] Mobs of ‘screaming teenage girls’ had greeted previous Beatles’ appearances in Leicester,[ii] and in anticipation of similar incidents in Dublin, Operation Beatles was… Continue reading Beatlemania, Mods and Hysterical Teenagers – Irish Style

‘Fintona’ Doll House 1840s

The doll house was placed in storage in Belfast in the 1930s by a family from Fintona, County Tyrone, before being sold by Christie’s, London, in October 2004, and again at C & T Auctions, Kent in November 2022. Mr David Boles, admiring the work of the Museum of Childhood Ireland, emailed us in November… Continue reading ‘Fintona’ Doll House 1840s

­­­­Heritage Week 2022: Suggestions for Objects for the Museum of Childhood Ireland

For Heritage Week 2022 the Museum of Childhood Ireland is asking members of the public to make suggestions of objects that they would like to see in the Museum. Do you have an object that that tells a story about the history of children and childhood in Ireland?  Or can you think of an item… Continue reading ­­­­Heritage Week 2022: Suggestions for Objects for the Museum of Childhood Ireland