Nick Maxwell While not in the vanguard of armed activity during the War of Independence, Kildare was central to the ‘revolutionary decade’ as whole, not only for its strategic importance and proximity to Dublin but in particular as the site of the largest British military establishment at the Curragh and elsewhere. It also has the dubious distinction … Read more
While not in the vanguard of armed activity in the revolutionary decade, Wicklow was, nevertheless, active in other respects. Moreover, its unique characteristics—proximity to Dublin, pioneering development of tourism, and one of the highest Protestant populations outside Ulster—make it worthy of study. Join History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham in discussion with Sheila Clarke (Ashford), Brendan Flynn (Wicklow), Kevin Lee (Carnew), Jim Rees (Arklow), Padraig Óg Ó Ruairc (author of several … Read more
By Joseph E.A. Connell Jr Though the Home Rule Bill of 1886 met with fierce opposition, it was Parnell’s affair with the married Katharine O’Shea that was fatal to his leadership and, ultimately, to Home Rule in his time. His refusal to step down after Mrs O’Shea’s sensational divorce case produced bitter division. Meetings … Read more
DON O’LEARY Eryn Press €18.99 ISBN 9781788461641 Reviewed by Peter Boylan Peter Boylan is a former Master of the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin. Don O’Leary examines a range of contentious issues, from contraception and abortion to human embryonic stem cell research and assisted suicide, which have been, and continue to be, controversial. The focus … Read more
BARRY KENNERK (ed.) Ashbourne Historical Society €20 ISBN 9781527254633 Reviewed by Stephen Doyle Stephen Doyle is a history graduate of University College Dublin. In his hilariously tongue-in-cheek 1967 article, ‘How Not to Write Local History’, H.P.R. Finberg notes two main problems: first, the tendency among ‘accomplished bunglers’ to eschew referencing and, second, their disastrous foreshortening … Read more