Nick Maxwell National eligibility and residency rules are still a divisive subject in Irish sport today. By Cian Manning The late 1970s saw the Irish squash rackets scene dominated by a Pakistani player named Mohammed Ali Somjee who harboured aspirations to represent Ireland in international tournaments. Married to a native of Drogheda, Somjee was about to realise … Read more
Place-name evidence suggests that Scandinavian rural settlement in Ireland was more extensive than is currently assumed. By William J. Smyth The Vikings were outstanding geographers. Their sea empire(s) stretched down the great rivers of continental Russia to reach Byzantium, while extending westwards to colonise Iceland, Greenland and even the edges of North America. To these … Read more
By Lar Joye The first police forces in Ireland were created under the Peace Preservation Act of 1814 by Sir Robert Peel (who for three years was MP for Cashel, Co. Tipperary). This was to lead to the creation of county constabularies in 1822, and over the next century 85,000 policemen served. Further restructuring took … Read more
Narrow cynicism and rehashed stereotypes. By Sylvie Kleinman Encore. Another deprecating—worse, factually incorrect—spin on the French Revolution in an RTÉ TV documentary, part one of Daniel O’Connell—forgotten king of Ireland, broadcast on 22 August 2019 (reviewed in HI 27.6, Nov./Dec. 2019). The gaffes in contextualising O’Connell’s time in France, reducing everything into that unshakeable construct of the … Read more
BRENDAN SIMMS Allen Lane £30 ISBN 9781846142475 Reviewed by Geoffrey Roberts If you are going to challenge a cherished historical consensus you need cogent arguments and compelling evidence. Brendan Simms’s challenge to deeply entrenched interpretations of Hitler’s Weltanschauung is plausible and engaging but unconvincing. According to Simms, ‘Hitler’s principal preoccupation throughout his career was Anglo-America … Read more