Century Ireland has reached yet another milestone. Following shortly after the fourth anniversary of the project’s launch, we now publish the 100th edition of our fortnightly historical newspaper.

To mark the occasion we recently collaborated with RTÉ Radio’s The History Show in a special live recording at the National Library:

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Through discussion, readings and music, the programme – broadcast on April 23rd and available to playback here – looked at the Irish experience of 1917 as the island’s political landscape transformed in the aftermath of the Rising the year before, and the First World War, then in its third year, continued to shape the social and economic realities of all. Put simply, the show delivered on radio what Century Ireland has been doing online since the launch of our first edition in May 2013.

Rooted in original research and using a vast array of archival material, the aim of Century Ireland – already the winner of several prestigious awards – is to deliver news and analysis of events from 100 years ago. In doing so, it tracks the unfolding of extraordinary Irish and international developments – the crisis of Irish Home Rule, the First World War, the rebellion of 1916 and its aftermath – against the backdrop of ordinary Irish life.

And so for our 100th edition, we plunge again into the past to take account of events from 10 to 23 May 1917 with stories on such diverse developments as the by-election results from South Longfordscuffles at commemorations for the executed leaders of the 1916 Risingdemands for better treatment of Irish prisoners in English jailsBritish Prime Ministerial promise of a Convention of all Irishmenthe reissue of James Connolly’s History of Irish Labourinfant mortality in Irelandfood shortages in Donegalthe ending of a docker’s strike in Dublinplans to extend the vote to women as part of a massive change to the electoral franchise; and efforts to secure the gains of the recent Russian revolution.

This historical reportage is bolstered by a wealth of archival materials and fresh historical analysis provided by historians whose expertise spans a vast range of subject-matter.

That’s not the lot of it, however. Not even close. As Century Ireland coverage has expanded and our archive deepened, we also developed two major online exhibitions – Gallipoli: An Irish Story and Easter Rising – and curated a series of galleries on such themes as the 1913 Lockout, the Dublin Housing Crisis, the Battle of the Somme and Roger Casement

So it’s been a busy and rewarding four years, from travelling to conferences across Ireland and beyond, to staging on-street exhibitions for such wonderful public history events as RTE’s Road to the Rising and ‘Reflecting the Rising’, to assisting in the production of special programmes for radio and television (check out excerpts from our Talking World War One series with David McCullagh), Century Ireland has taken us on a journey from the digital world to the classroom, the street, the theatre, the TV screen and back again.

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And none of it would have been possible without our partners. Supported by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs and based at Boston College-Ireland, Century Ireland is very much a collaborative enterprise involving a large number of institutional partners, at the core of which are RTÉ and the national cultural institutions – the National Library of Ireland, the National Archives of Ireland and the National Museum of Ireland.

We’d like to thank them, our various academic contributors and, of course, our readers and social media followers for all the enthusiastic and constructive support.

As for the uninitiated, you can follow Century Ireland’s continuing news coverage of Ireland’s decade of centenaries via TwitterInstagram, YouTube, Facebook and RTE News Now (for regular headlines from 100 years ago)

Best wishes

The Century Ireland team