Nick Maxwell ‘How lies about Irish “barbarism” in 1641 paved way for Cromwell’s atrocities. Conference hears how seventeenth-century “dodgy dossier” spread stories about Catholics ripping open pregnant Protestant women.’ These headlines appeared in the Guardian On-line in February 2011. The ‘dodgy dossier’ angle was a good headline-grabber, but the truth of the matter is that the Language … Read more
‘Terrible queer creatures’: a history of homosexuality in Ireland Brian Lacey (Wordwell Books, €25) ISBN 9781905569236 With a title referencing James Joyce, this book takes one down a hundred avenues of Irish gay history and a greater number of characters. Whether their homosexuality is documented or the subject of reasoned speculation, Brian Lacey, a noted … Read more
Catholic Belfast and nationalist Ireland in the era of Joe Devlin, 1871–1934 A. C. Hepburn (Oxford University Press, £55) ISBN 9780199298846 To his admirers, ‘Wee’ Joe Devlin was a gifted orator, a powerful defender of Catholic rights and a champion of the working class, while detractors tend to see him as a ‘green Tory’, a … Read more
Turning points of the Irish revolution: the British government, intelligence and the cost of indifference, 1912–1921 Benjamin Grob-Fitzgibbon (Palgrave Macmillan, £42.50) ISBN 9781403980038 This is a well-structured book that provides the first sustained analysis of Colonial Office intelligence reports from 1913 to 1920. These indicate that Dublin Castle was better informed about the secret activities … Read more
Across a broad spectrum, from affronted ecclesiastic to paranoid loyalist, a considerable ‘rap-sheet’ mounted up against the AOH. The Ribbonmen (as they were also known) stood charged with sectarianism, violent suppression of political opponents, undue influence on the IPP machine and an ultimately separatist outlook. Nevertheless, behind this criticism lay the near-universal opinion that the … Read more