How a ferocious 19th-century hurricane helped Irish people get their British pension

By Robyn Atcheson, Open Learning Tutor in Social History, Queen's University Belfast

Sunday January 6 1839 signalled the end of the festive season, the last of the 12 days of Christmas. The people of Ireland woke to light snow and many were looking forward to the evening’s celebrations.

January 6 was known as Nollaig na mBan – “women’s Christmas” when womenfolk across the country took a day off from their traditional domestic chores as a reward for all their efforts, and visited friends and family.

The temperature…

Read complete article

~	Kate Mildenhall’s fast-paced thriller The Hiding Place skewers middle-class pretensions

~	Why grieving a pet can be as hard as grieving a person

~	Canada risks missing out on Africa’s trade boom under Mark Carney

~	US boards a ship sailing under a Russian flag: what we know and don’t know about the legal position

~	Stephen Miller: portrait of Donald Trump’s ideologue-in-chief

~	Cuba’s leaders just lost an ally in Maduro − if starved of Venezuelan oil, they may also lose what remains of their public support

~	Canada has too few professional archeologists, and that has economic consequences

~	Risks young chimps take as they swing through the trees underscore role of protective parenting in humans

~	The Neurotechnology Shift: how next-generation wearables interface with the brain itself

~	Surprising number of foods contain microplastics. Here’s how to reduce the amount you consume