Brenan, John (1768–1830), physician and satirist, was born into a minor landed Catholic family from Ballaghide, Co. Carlow. The details of his early life are hazy, but from about 1801 he was practising medicine in Dublin. He claimed to be the first person to use turpentine against puerperal fever, having observed its benefits in 1812 … Read more
Fagan’s edition of letters of Irish interest in the Stuart papers makes available an important collection of primary source-material relating to Ireland and the exiled Stuarts. It reflects the burgeoning of interest in Irish Jacobitism as represented by the work of Breandán Ó Buachalla, Mícheal Mac Craith, Vincent Morley, Patrick Fagan and my own ongoing … Read more
Commencing with the current issue, subscribers to History Ireland will receive an insert based on the Irish Historic Towns Atlas (IHTA) series, starting with medieval Dublin. The IHTA project was set up in the early 1980s, inspired by an already successful wider European venture that had been established in 1955 under the auspices of … Read more
At the beginning of its centenary year, the Abbey Theatre continues to play an important role in Irish cultural life. Just what this role should be and to what extent the Abbey lives up to the enormous expectations generated by its position as the National Theatre are questions which are alive today, much as they … Read more
In their preface to this handsome volume the joint editors acknowledge that while it has been their aim to give some account of the chief battles of Ireland’s history their principal concern is with the political and social background. Although at first sight this might appear to belie the title of the book, their approach … Read more