Nick Maxwell By Conor McCabe In 1973 the eminent Irish labour historian John W. Boyle wrote a review of the republished edition of The life and times of James Connolly by C. Desmond Greaves. Although largely positive in his comments, he nonetheless had some concerns about its sources and scholarly fidelity. The lack of detailed references meant … Read more
By Fiona Fitzsimons The Famine years saw a substantial increase in the number of unaccompanied children in Irish workhouses. The consequent crisis in childcare prompted a public debate over whether Poor Law children should be raised in an institutional or a family setting. Although boarding out delivered better outcomes for children, it was never widely … Read more
Sir,—It is indeed true that the Israeli state’s labelling of all its critics as ‘anti-Semitic’ is shameless and designed to muzzle opposition to its brutal war in Gaza (HI 33.2, March/April 2025, editorial), but two things can be true at the same time. Defending Ireland’s position on Palestine should not mean having to whitewash anti-Semitism … Read more
Sir,—Understanding that HI can only list a selection of titles in the ‘further reading’ appended to feature articles, we nonetheless encourage some expansion for curious readers of Isadore Ryan’s article on the Irish in the Franco-Prussian War (HI 33.2, March/April 2025). Having, at the request of Janick Julienne, attempted to locate, so far unsuccessfully, an … Read more
In the light of observations made by Nicola Bartley, granddaughter of Robert Butler, which the author, Jack Traynor, would like to take on board, a revised version of his article ‘The general and his drivers—Eoin O’Duffy’s chauffeurs’ has been uploaded to our website https://historyireland.com/the-general-and-his-drivers-eoin-oduffys-chauffeurs. —Ed.