Nick Maxwell Sir, —There is no doubt that Mr Pat Cooke is keen to court controversywith his pseudo-philosophical deconstruction of Tara and its landscapein his ‘platform’ piece, ‘Plato’s landscape: the quarrel over Lismullenand the Tara/Skryne valley’ (HI 15.5, Sept./Oct. 2007). Fewcommentators would be foolhardy enough to seriously dismiss thenational significance of Tara’s landscape on the basis of … Read more
Sir,—I am writing to you, and to others involved in Irish local history and genealogy, out of sheer desperation and frustration! I am hoping that in your professional position you may, in some way, be able to raise the problem of access to Irish records with those who have the power to affect matters! If I … Read more
Sir, —Usually I read your magazine from cover to cover with enthusiasm and interest. However, the issue for July/August 2007 (Flight of the Earls ‘special’) contained two articles completely incomprehensible to me (pp 32–6, 52–5). I hope that these two articles do not create a precedent. As a monoglot anglophone I shall have to reassess … Read more
September 14 1911 Canon James McDyer, priest and community leader associated with Glencolmcille, Co. Donegal, born in Kilraine, Glenties, Co. Donegal. 16 1941 Sixteen Irish soldiers were killed in an explosion whilst conducting tests with anti-tank mines in the Glen of Imaal, Co. Wicklow—the worst disaster in the history of the Irish defence … Read more
Why doesn’t the Vatican City, a sovereign state, represented at the United Nations, have a football team? After all, other European micro-states—Liechtenstein, the Faroe Islands (in Ireland’s qualifying group for the 2014 World Cup), Andorra and San Marino (like the Vatican, also surrounded by Italian territory)—have international football teams. Sure, it only has a population … Read more