Nick Maxwell MICHAEL McCANN Mercier Press €16.99 ISBN 9781781176191 Reviewed by Brian Hanley Brian Hanley is the author of The impact of the Troubles on the Republic of Ireland, 1968–79: boiling volcano? (Manchester University Press, 2018). This is an important book that gives a voice to some of those nationalists who were driven from their homes in … Read more
What caused the ‘great explosion’? By Michael Fewer The Civil War began on 28 June 1922, when the National Army attacked an anti-Treaty force that had been in occupation of the Four Courts in Dublin since April of that year. After 60 hours of fighting and comparatively few casualties, the Four Courts garrison surrendered. Before … Read more
BY AODHÁN CREALEY JULY 02/1900 Thomas Farrell (73), sculptor, died. A forgotten man nowadays, Farrell’s works include statues of Archbishops Murray and Cullen in Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral, Archbishop Richard Whately and coastguard hero John McNeill Boyd in St Patrick’s Cathedral, William Dargan outside the National Gallery, and no less than two statues on O’Connell Street—Sir John … Read more
JOHN GIBNEY Yale University Press $25 ISBN 9780300208511 Reviewed by Evan Comerford With an MA in Irish History from Maynooth University, Evan Comerford is a civil servant with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. ‘Certainly, even if history were judged incapable of other uses, its entertainment value would remain in its favour.’ So … Read more
DMP Detective Sergeant Patrick Smyth—the first G Division casualty of the War of Independence. By Seán Ryan The shooting of the two RIC constables in Soloheadbeg on 21 January 1919 had been followed by widespread condemnation by all sections of the community, including the Catholic Church and nationalist organisations. Although the Irish Volunteers’ newspaper, An … Read more