Nick Maxwell History to be retained as a core subject in the new junior cycle. By Deirdre Mac Mathúna Isn’t it ironic that the introduction of the framework document on the new junior cycle in 2012 by then Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn coincided with the launch of the State’s commemoration of the ‘decade of centenaries’? National … Read more
Sir,—In a previous letter (HI 27.3, May/June 2019), Padraig Yeates seemed to assert that the Irish bore chief responsibility for the 1919–21 war with Britain. Now (HI 27.5, Sept./Oct. 2019) he states merely that the said war was the main cause of partition. This is an improvement; it is still mistaken. The war was simply a … Read more
Sir,—I read with more than passing interest the fine summary of the potential negative implications of open access publishing, especially page charges, by Jacqueline Hill (HI 27.5, Sept./Oct. 2019). She describes, without exaggeration, the consequences for academic researchers trying to publish when not in receipt of research grants to cover these page charges. Although not … Read more
Sir,—Tony Tracy’s article on Hollywood’s view of Parnell (HI 27.5, Sept./Oct. 2019) brings to mind an anecdote by León Ó Broin. A senior civil servant by day, in his leisure time he wrote books, including a biography of Parnell in Irish. His next-door neighbour was Jimmy Montgomery, the state’s film censor and a noted wit. … Read more
Sir,—There were many myths and legends that became attached to the story of the defence of her besieged castle by Lettice Digby, Baroness Offaly (HI 27.5, Sept./Oct. 2019). These myths themselves have been theorised as suggesting a certain discomfort among male historians with the heroic actions of a woman at a time when heroic action was … Read more