Nick Maxwell Sir,—Peter Connolly (Letters, HI 20.6, Nov./Dec. 2012) contrasts the wiping out by Tom Barry’s column of eighteen Auxiliaries at Kilmichael in November 1920 with the sparing of men from the same force by Seán MacEoin’s men at Ballinalee in February 1921. Neither Barry nor any of his men suffered injury or imprisonment as a result … Read more
Sir,—I loved the front cover picture (HI 20.6, Nov./Dec. 2012) of Edward Carson and James Craig at Galgorm Castle in July 1913. Over the following few days I found myself coming back to sneak a peak at it again, and grinning inanely. And yet I couldn’t quite explain my fascination. And then came my ‘eureka’ … Read more
Sir,—I read with interest the article on the American Civil War by Kevin Haddick Flynn (HI 20.5, Sept./Oct. 2012). I should like, however, to correct some factual errors in the article, the first being that William Mitchel was John Mitchel’s eldest son. He was in fact his youngest and a private in the 1st Virginia … Read more
Fenians, freedmen, and Southern whites: race and nationality in the era of Reconstruction Mitchell Snay (Louisiana State University Press, $40) ISBN 9780807132739What do Southern Klansmen, their politically aroused former slaves and American-based Irish nationalists have in common? Not a lot, it turns out. Mitchell Snay aspires in this ambitious comparative study to tease out a … Read more
Sir,—I thoroughly enjoyed Philip Orr’s article on Ballymena during the Home Rule crisis (HI 20.6, Nov./Dec. 2012). I have lived in the town for 40 years and taught history here for 30. A pupil once lent me a postcard (reproduced in my Nationalist and Unionist: Ireland before the Treaty [Blackie & Son, 1989]) sent in … Read more