Nick Maxwell Sir, —Your Jan./Feb. 2008 issue proves that controversy still haunts the Irish revolutionary period. Brian Hanley (‘Fear and loathing at Coolacrease’) rightly cautions against emotive approaches to the past, yet he steps into another ahistorical snare: believing that our present republic is a more or less inevitable consequence of the events of that period, rather … Read more
In July 1920 the IRA shot dead Lt Colonel Brice Ferguson Smyth, who had earlier made an infamous speech in Listowel, where he said that the police were perfectly justified in shooting people who did not immediately put their hands up when challenged and that, if mistakes were made, policemen should not face court proceedings. … Read more
‘Try telling that to young people today . . .’ In these recessionary times, with the future uncertain, it’s nice to be involved in a publication whose focus is on the past and give readers a break from current travails. But, as I scan the contents of this issue, it’s clear that there’s no getting … Read more
Devlin’s use of the AOH to enforce party discipline reached its zenith at the ‘baton’ convention of 9 February 1909, called to consider, or to enforce the acceptance of, Birrell’s land bill. The main victim was William O’Brien, ironically the founder of the UIL, opponent of the land bill and supporter of a more conciliatory … Read more
The murder of Major Mahon, Strokestown, County Roscommon, 1847 Padraig Vesey (Four Courts Press, Maynooth Studies in Local History, €9.95) ISBN 9781846821196 In opening, the author briefly surveys some previous accounts of the Mahon murder, including Robert Scally’s The end of hidden Ireland, of which he says: ‘The introduction to Scally’s book reflects an anti-Unionist … Read more