Nick Maxwell Contested island: Ireland 1460–1630 Divided kingdom: Ireland 1630–1800 S.J. Connolly (Oxford University Press, £35 each) ISBN 9780198208167 ISBN 9780199543472 The last decade has seen the publication of many surveys of the history of Ireland, including tomes from S.J. Connolly’s Queen’s University Belfast colleagues Alvin Jackson and Paul Bew. Tom Bartlett will shortly publish a single-volume … Read more
Sir,—Volunteers James and Timothy Coffey were from Breaghna, Enniskeane, Co. Cork, the eldest boys in the family of eight of farming parents James and Margaret Coffey. In the early hours of Monday 14 February 1921, the soldiers of the Essex Regiment and Black and Tans were escorted by two masked civilians, who were members of … Read more
Sir,—In his review of Terror in Ireland (HI 20.3, May/June 2012) Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc maintains that my chapter about the Kilmichael ambush failed to address the ‘wider debate about historiography’ and the ‘serious questions regarding Hart’s methodology, and in particular his claim to have interviewed an unnamed Kilmichael veteran at a time when all … Read more
Irish history publishing tends to come in waves, often in tandem with public commemorations and anniversaries. A case in point is the 1798 Rebellion. In the run-up to the bicentenary commemorations what started as a trickle of articles and monographs, some on the occasion of the bicentenaries of the French Revolution in 1989 and the … Read more
Sir,—Any reader not yet stupefied by recent exchanges on the late Peter Hart’s academic integrity is invited to consult my detailed and footnoted riposte to John Regan’s charges in a forthcoming issue of History. His latest contribution to History Ireland restates familiar accusations without offering fresh evidence. One specific challenge should, however, be declined forthwith. … Read more