Gillian Wright

Dante in Portadown?

I'll be fascinated to read this.

Really pleased to have had the chance to write for BBC History Magazine for the first time - and to receive prominent billing on the cover! Available from your local newsagent soon.

An old black and white photo showing five men in Edwardian clothes, all wearing hates, standing in front of woods.

I wonder if any Irish historians on here can help me identify any of the people in this picture? Early 1900s probably in Dublin, it's Tom Clarke in the middle and I think I know who it is on the left of the image. Any of the others though?

The passing of the bill of attainder against the Jacobite Sir John Fenwick - The History of Parliament after a bitter series of debates, finally passed a bill that would result in the execution of the Northumbrian baronet Sir John Fenwick, for treason

#OTD 1696, a bill was passed that would result in the execution of Sir John Fenwick for treason.

Dr Paul Seaward explores the reasonings behind his beheading and how a bill of attainder sentenced Fenwick to death without the provision of two witnesses:
historyofparliament.com/2025/11/25/t...

A turning-point in the Wars of the Roses: the attainders of the Coventry Parliament - The History of Parliament As significant, however, as this Parliament was in the history of the Wars of the Roses, it had as least as great a longer-term significance. It saw the

#OTD in 1459 marked the opening of the Coventry Parliament.

Although this Parliament only met briefly between November and December 1459, it would have a lasting impact in the Wars of the Roses:

Mountain of waste dumped in Oxfordshire field contains rubbish from councils Evidence of waste from primary schools and local authorities in south-east England points to possible large-scale corruption, expert says

Gross.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Death of a Queen: the tragic end of Caroline of Ansbach - The History of Parliament In the latest post for the Georgian Lords, Dr Robin Eagles, considers the grisly end of Queen Caroline of Ansbach, the botched efforts of her physicians to

Died #OTD 1737, Queen Caroline of Ansbach, wife of George II

As Dr Robin Eagles explores, not only were her last few weeks agonizing, but her death reflected her wider importance to the Hanoverian regime:
historyofparliament.com/2021/12/02/c...

Isle of Muck puffin comeback 'proves restoration works' Puffins have been seen on the Isle of Muck off Antrim for the first time in at least 25 years

Hope for pufflings. BBC News - Puffin comeback 'proves restoration works'
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Pettigo has a special place in my heart.

How a plan to redraw the Irish border fell apart In the early years of partition, the exact line the border took was still very much up for debate.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Bad Bridgets podcast about crime among Irish women in US inspires film Margot Robbie’s company to make movie based on Northern Ireland academics’ stories of poverty and prison

Massively looking forward to this:
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

‘The first M.P. to fall’: the Hon. Arthur Edward Bruce O’Neill (1876-1914) - The History of Parliament Over the next four years, we'll be blogging short biographies of the MPs who died fighting in the First World War. Dr Kathryn Rix, of the Victorian Commons,

Today marks 111 years since the first Member of Parliament was killed in action during the First World War.

Head to the #HistParl website to read our short biography of Captain Arthur O'Neill, MP for Mid Antrim.

Ten excellent novellas I highly recommend There’s something very satisfying about reading a whole book in one or two sittings on the same day, especially when time is tight. I’ve always been fond of novellas, which often offer the best of …

New on the blog today, I've written about ten excellent novellas I highly recommend.

Featuring books by Anita Brookner, William Trevor. Muriel Spark and many more! #BookSky #Novellas #NovNov 💙📚

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/10/30/t...

Bodleian Visiting Fellowships in Special Collections

ARCHIVAL FUNDING: Ann Ball Bodley Visiting Fellowship in Women’s History, to use Bodleian Libraries collections to advance scholarship in women’s history, of any geographical area and historical period. Deadline 28th Nov. www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowsh...

Craigavon: Marlborough House 'marmite' building listed The B1 listing is for buildings of local importance, which provide a good example of a period or style.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Seamus Heaney’s poems for a darkening age | The Observer Collected in a landmark new edition, the late Irish writer’s work is attuned to wonder, replete with humanity and rooted in the tragedies of history

This @fotoole.bsky.social piece is one of the best things I have ever read in a newspaper.

observer.co.uk/culture/book...

A quarter-length portrait of Edmund Waller in an oval. He is wearing a dark top, with a frilled lace scarf tied high on his neck. He is clean shaven with with faint wrinkles, and has long brown curly hair.

Died #OTD 1687, Edmund Waller.

Serving as an MP since 1624, in 1643 Waller was involved in a royalist conspiracy to capture London known as ‘Waller’s Plot’. Although other conspirators were hanged, Waller bought his own stay of execution for £10,000.

buff.ly/CwKftHR

Century-old papers saved from the bin reveal changes in Europe’s plant life Plant inventories dating back to 1884 and nearly thrown away enable unique time-lapse study of biodiversity in Swiss meadows

Never delete old documents.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Seamus Heaney: Previously unseen poetry published A major volume of poetry by Seamus Heaney includes previously unseen works.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

And I loved reading it.

Wow!

The Pushkin job: unmasking the thieves behind an international rare books heist The long read: Between 2022 and 2023, as many as 170 rare and valuable editions of Russian classics were stolen from libraries across Europe. Were the thieves merely low-level opportunists, or were bi...

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...

Why the BBC’s Shipping Forecast still entrances people after 100 years Designed to ensure safe sailing for those on the sea, a dedicated shipping forecast was first broadcast by the BBC in 1925.

theconversation.com/why-the-bbcs...

We surveyed British MPs – most don’t know how urgent climate action is New study finds both MPs and the public underestimate how quickly global emissions must be cut.

theconversation.com/we-surveyed-...

Rathlin: Manx Shearwater breeds on island for first time in decades The Manx Shearwater was once present on Rathlin Island in

how about that?!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

‘If you get it wrong, it’s sacrilegious!’ TV’s problem with Irish accents From James Norton’s ‘terror’ at playing a Dubliner in House of Guinness to Helen Mirren doing an impersonation so atrocious it went viral – why do actors struggle to play people from Ireland?

Very true.

www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

At this event I will be talking to singer Adriana Festeu and Christopher White, Head of Opera at the RAM, about the opera-elitism stereotype and how things differ between Britain and Germany. Free to attend and open to all but you need to book a space.

With the usual prudent caveats about first examples in the OED; I love that Jonson is the first to be cited for "I told you so"

Gulliver’s Afterlives The first deep dive into the cultural afterlives of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, this book explores how the strange adventures of the 18th-century voyag…

Out soon: www.bloomsbury.com/us/gullivers...