Nick Maxwell Sir,—Liam Cahill’s points (HI 28.2, March/April 2020), correcting this writer’s review of his book on the Limerick Soviet, need a clear reply themselves. Firstly, as to the criticism of the Irish Times’ coverage of the centenary, this applied to Ronan McGreevy’s January survey of the year 1919, which emphasised the relatively sparse military actions of … Read more
Sir,—In relation to recent controversies about unionist attitudes to the Irish language, it may be interesting to note that there is evidence that Edward Carson could speak some Irish. William Gibson, second Lord Ashbourne, was president of the Gaelic League 1928–33. In 1918 he delivered a speech in Irish and English in the House of … Read more
Sir,—Sylvia Kleinman is right to deplore the narrow cynicism and rehashed stereotypes that characterise the rare mentions of the French Revolution on RTÉ (HI 28.2, March/April 2020, Platform). Kleinman exposes the factual errors and spin that reduce this transformative decade in history to the ‘excesses of the Revolution’ and a James Gillray-style caricature of simian … Read more
BRENDAN SCOTT (ed.) Four Courts Press €50 ISBN 9781846827358 Reviewed by David Heffernan David Heffernan is a historian of Tudor and early Stuart Ireland. The role of the towns in the Ulster Plantation initiated around 1609 by the government of James I has always been central to the broader historiography of the plantation during the … Read more
By Joseph E.A. Connell The Irish Bulletin, a Dublin newspaper edited by Desmond FitzGerald, was one of the most effective propaganda arms for the IRA/Volunteers during the War of Independence. It was published daily from 11 November 1919 until the Truce. On 19 June 1920, it reported the words of Lt. Col. Gerald Brice Ferguson … Read more