Nick Maxwell We in Ireland have always prided ourselves on the robustness anddurability of our democratic institutions. Of all the European statesthat gained independence in the twentieth century ours is the only oneto have maintained an unbroken tradition of parliamentary democracy.(HI 17.5, Sept./Oct. 2009, editorial) Really? Because of a deep and well-rounded ignorance of history Icannot contest … Read more
Sir, —The truest answer to R. M. Douglas’s opening question in his article on Ailtirí na hAiseirighe (HI 17.5, Sept./Oct. 2009), as to ‘which side the country favoured in World War II’, is ‘ours’. Certainly, neither the US nor British leaders were impressed by southern Ireland’s stance; the one real difference southern Ireland might have … Read more
Sir, —Angus Mitchell, reviewing Marnie Hay’s excellent biography of Bulmer Hobson (HI 17.5, Sept./Oct. 2009), remarked that ‘Towards the end of his life Hobson devoted much energy to defending Roger Casement, a fellow warrior in his “moral insurrection”. But in the malicious and confusing media debate that raged over his reputation in the 1950s … Read more
In 1990 British Tory politician Norman Tebbitt coined his controversial ‘cricket test’: irrespective of whether they held UK passports, which team did Asian and Caribbean immigrants to Britain support? The equivalent ‘loyalty test’ in Ireland must surely be the name you use for the ‘Maiden City’ and its surrounding county: Derry or Londonderry? That this … Read more
Scotland and the Ulster plantations: explorations in the British settlements of Stuart Ireland W. P. Kelly and J. R. Young (eds) (Four Courts Press, Ä49.50) ISBN 9781846820762 Has the edited volume of papers had its day? These are all individually very interesting essays but they do not add up to a treatment of the … Read more