Nick Maxwell Sir—In articles published in History Ireland and History, I recently drew attention to the late Peter Hart’s presentation of an unambiguous sectarian explanation for the so-called ‘Bandon Valley massacre’ of late April 1922. In a public lecture given in Cork, and coinciding with the massacre’s 90th anniversary, Dr Andy Bielenberg argued for the impossibility of … Read more
In January 1914 James Nowlan, president of the GAA, advised every member to join the Irish Volunteers and ‘learn to shoot straight’. Nowlan took his own advice and, as a member of the Volunteers, was imprisoned in Frongoch internment camp following the Easter Rising. As a prisoner, he was among many who engaged in sporting … Read more
In the historiography of the Irish revolution, the idea that is often conveyed is that the violence was confined to a few areas: Dublin at the epicentre, with periodic eruptions in Belfast and the province of Munster in almost constant turmoil. In recent years, however, books that attempt to balance the picture have started to … Read more
Irish soldiers active in the region by the end of the eighteenth century and during the wars of independence were members of British, Spanish, Portuguese and South American armies. In the eighteenth century the Spanish regiment Ultonia, with Irish origins in Catalonia, was stationed in Mexico. In Chile, the Spanish Crown appointed Ambrose O’Higgins of … Read more
Victoria O’Brien’s book provides much-needed insight into the development of ballet in Dublin in the middle of the last century, presenting a most interesting first survey of the activities and achievements of the main groups operating there, studying them in four chapters. The surviving records of these schools or companies were scattered and fragmentary; without … Read more