Nick Maxwell In Ireland, early aeronautical ambitions had centred on Richard Crosbie (1755–1824). Crosbie’s aeronautical ambition had always been to reach England; although he never managed to do so, he did at least become the first man to fly in Ireland (and the first Irishman to fly) when he ascended from Dublin’s Ranelagh Gardens on 19 January … Read more
The first balloon crossing of the Irish Sea in July 1817. By Mark Davies ‘I am just come from the clouds; I should now wish to visit the deep.’ This was the bravado request of twenty-year-old Windham Sadler, only hours after becoming the first man ever to make an aerial crossing of the Irish Sea, … Read more
‘If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself’ —George Orwell, 1984. By Angus Mitchell This observation in Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece touches on how a critical dynamic of state control requires a shutting out of secrecy entirely as a recognisable function of authority. Perhaps this is the only way in … Read more
Sir,—Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc’s article (HI 25.3, May/June 2017) places emphasis on ‘the geography of IRA executions’ in the War of Independence, but he overlooks the more significant factor of their chronology. May I suggest that if he viewed each of these occurrences against the backdrop of political events nationally he would find that these … Read more
Sir,—In his review of my book (HI 25.3, May/June 2017) Emmet O’Connor compares my original Ph.D dissertation of 1984 with the new publication. If he had really read the original thesis he would have seen how much has been changed. It is essentially a new edition. Not only have recent publications on Connolly been considered, … Read more