Richard Walter’s narrative was to become an eighteenth-century bestseller. With more than 1,800 advance subscribers, in England it went through four further editions before the end of 1748. Extracts were published in serial form in periodicals, the fullest in London’s popular Gentleman’s Magazine. The first French edition appeared in 1749. It appeared in the private … Read more
Sir,—Would a History Ireland reader kindly enlighten me? I seek additional information about possible descendants of the literary O’Clerys of Donegal. A 16 January 1847 obituary in the Drogheda Argus reported that John O’Clery/Clarke, son of Patrick, son of Cosnamhach, son of Cairbre, son of Diarmid, son of Cucogry O’Clery (one of the Four Masters, … Read more
Sir,—In your ‘On this day’ column (HI 19.2, March/April 2011) it was stated that James Stephens, the founder of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, died on 29 April 1901. In fact he died on 29 March 1901. At his funeral on 31 March 1901, my great-grandfather James Bermingham was one of the coffin-bearers, along with Michael … Read more
Sir,—Eamon O’Flaherty’s review of Dion Boucicault’s Arrah-na-Pogue (HI 19.2, March/April 2011) notes that Boucicault made a huge impact on the theatre in mid-nineteenth-century New York and London. It should also be noted that Boucicault was in turn affected by a seminal event in American history, to which he thereby became an interesting footnote. The playbill … Read more
Ireland: the politics of enmity 1789–2006 Paul Bew (Oxford University Press, £35) ISBN 9780198205555 According to the preface, this book ‘is about the conflict between the Protestant British—both on the British “mainland” and in Ireland itself—and the Catholic Irish’, from the 1800 Act of Union to the 2006 St Andrews Agreement. The various attempts by … Read more