Nick Maxwell On this, the 50th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic relations between Ireland and the Soviet Union in 1974 (See ‘Our man in Moscow’, HI 32.5, Sept./Oct. 2024, pp 48–51, and https://historyireland.com/hedge-schools/), it is timely to reflect on the ongoing war in Ukraine. At the outset, quite rightly, Ireland stood with Ukraine by diplomatically condemning … Read more
(Recorded live on Sunday 29 September 2024, @ The Substation, Alexandra Road, Dublin, D01 H4C6) In 1986, the maritime historian, John de Courcey Ireland, wrote: ‘The lives of island peoples like Ireland’s [have] been dominated by the seas encircling them. Yet this fact has been largely ignored by Irish historians’. Is Irish history still ‘sea … Read more
By James Sharkey It was 5 April 1974, my 29th birthday. I had just arrived in Moscow with instructions from the Department of Foreign Affairs to open Ireland’s first ever embassy to the USSR. On the journey into the city, like most visitors, I was deeply moved by the impressive anti-tank memorial that marked the … Read more
By Lance Pettitt The part that Irishmen have played in British military conflicts down the years is an established theme in contemporary historical writing. Belfast-born Brian Desmond Hurst (1895–1986) is notable for his dual contribution in this narrative as both a war veteran and a cinematic visionary (see Museum Eye, HI 31.5, Sept./Oct. 2023, pp … Read more
By Pat Poland In the early hours of the morning of 1 September 1939, the German pocket-battleship Schleswig-Holstein quietly entered the mouth of the River Vistula near the city of Danzig (present-day Gdansk in Poland), ostensibly on a friendly visit. The unsuspecting Polish garrison on the island of Westerplatte allowed the battleship to sail deep … Read more