Recent debates surrounding children in State care, parental rights, and abuse in Ireland's industrial schools, concern issues that are rooted in the historical record. By examining the social problems addressed by philanthropists and child protection workers from the nineteenth century, we can begin to understand more about the treatment of children and the family today. In Ireland, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) was the principle organisation involved in investigating families and protecting children. The 'cruelty men', as NSPCC inspectors were known,...

This volume presents a unique and engaging selection of stories from current and retired staff at NUI Galway of familial participation during the revolutionary period. It captures the ways in which family history and memory is transmitted and the influence and legacy of these histories. The stories include familial accounts of well-known figures like Peadar O'Donnell, Tom Kettle and Hanna and Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, alongside accounts of men and women unknown/forgotten by the larger historical narrative. The contributions include accounts of nationalists and unionists; men, women and...