Nick Maxwell The text of the law is found in two manuscripts, one from the fifteenth and one from the seventeenth century, both based on a no-longer-extant manuscript referred to as ‘the Old Book of Raphoe’. One of the manuscripts is a Michéal Ó Cléirigh text of 1627, itself based on a manuscript written by his cousin … Read more
Sir,—May I commend Brian Hanley for his review of John M. Regan’s Myth and the Irish state that brought to wider notice some of the current debates in modern Irish history (HI 22.5, Sept./Oct. 2014). Prof Regan is one of the most incisive minds working on modern Ireland today. The issues he raises about the … Read more
Sir,—In his response to my earlier observations D.R. O’Connor Lysaght makes some fair points (HI 22.6, Nov./Dec. 2014, Letters). It would be foolish to pretend that Germany was solely responsible for the Great War, and the argument that the Reich was striking a pre-emptive blow in 1914 is not entirely implausible. The September Programme, however, … Read more
Sir,—With the centenary of the 1916 Rising due in April 2016 and less than three months later that of the Battle of the Somme, now is the time to decide on a respectful and appropriate remembrance. Both battles were a wellspring of heroic sacrifice and both went on to have a formative influence on Ireland … Read more
Sir,—Jim Smyth’s article on Brendan Behan’s MI5 file (HI 22.6, Nov./Dec. 2014) suggests that Brendan, from an early age, had anti-Nazi and pro-USSR sentiments that he retained through the frostiest times of the Cold War. My father Paddy and his brothers Eddie and Michael Whelan were incarcerated in the Curragh internment camp with Brendan in … Read more