Nick Maxwell The Connolly Column: the story of the Irishmen who fought for the Spanish Republic 1936–1939 Michael O’Riordan (Warren and Pell, €22.50) ISBN 0954890426 How do we now see the Spanish Civil War of 70 years ago? What do we now think of its origins and the forces involved? The world—particularly Europe—has greatly changed. Fascism, as … Read more
The Three Richards: Richard I, Richard II and Richard III Nigel Saul (Hambledon and London, £19.99) ISBN 1852852860It is probably just as well that the present prince of Wales is called Charles and that the son likely to succeed him is called William. Anything but Richard, for of the three King Richards so far—Richard I, … Read more
A relative newcomer in the field of Irish Studies journals, the third annual issue of Radharc has just been published (Wordwell Books and Glucksman Ireland House, 164pp, E20, $26, ISSN 15317293). In his preface the editor, Professor Joe Lee, director of New York University’s Glucksman Ireland House, defines Irish Studies in an inclusive manner ‘to … Read more
Mary Raftery’s exposé of industrial schools in her acclaimed RTÉ documentary States of fear (1999) drew particular attention to criticism of the system by Boys’ Town’s Fr Edward Flanagan—Dáire Keogh re-examines the evidence. In the recent debate about institutional abuse in Ireland, commentators have drawn on a cache of letters amongst the papers of Father … Read more
In a short poem composed near the end of his life, W.B. Yeats wrote: ‘Out of Ireland we have come. /Great hatred, little room, /Maimed us from the start’. Over sixty years later, Yeats’s despair (or statement of fact), has maintained its relevance for understanding Ireland, and will continue to do so for years to … Read more