Nick Maxwell Sir, —One of the joys of historical research is to discover an unknown document that appears to validate (or discredit) some widely cherished yet hitherto unproven speculation. Such a document is the report submitted to Dublin Castle by Brigadier-General Cyril (not ‘Cecil’) Prescott-Decie, divisional commissioner of the RIC in Limerick, on 1 June 1920. On … Read more
The Orange Order in Canada David A. Wilson (ed.) (Four Courts Press, €55) ISBN 9781846820779 This collection is derived from the first conference on the Orange Order in Canada, held at St Michael’s College, Toronto, in 2005. While the majority of the articles trace the activities and development of the order in Canada from the … Read more
Shipwreck Inventory of Ireland: Louth, Meath, Dublin and Wicklow Compiled by Karl Brady (Government Publications, €35) ISBN 9780755776160 From the highest point in old Holmpatrick graveyard, up by the ruined church tower where little more than a murder of crows mourns the many worn headstones, you have a pretty good view of the islands off … Read more
It looks like my headline for last issue’s article on Olympic boxing—‘Punching above our weight?’—was vindicated by the impressive haul of four medals by our boxers in London (gold, silver and two bronze). Strange, then, that what set the blogosphere buzzing during the recent games was RTÉ presenter Bill O’Herlihy’s observation, in the course of … Read more
Enforcing the English reformation in Ireland: clerical resistance and political conflict in the diocese of Dublin, 1534–1590 James Murray (Cambridge University Press, £60, $120) ISBN 9780521770385 Lacking the requisite documentation for an English-style study of the Reformation in Dublin (p. 15), James Murray presents an over-arching hypothesis: that Dublin’s clerical élites were committed to a … Read more