Sir, —As a Confederate re-enactor, you can imagine how interested I wasto read the May/June issue’s article on Irish nationalist/southernsecessionist John Mitchel. Having experienced severe difficulty infinding reliable, detailed information on his service to theConfederate states, I was pleasantly surprised. James Quinn is to becongratulated, as his article is extremely insightful and a credit toyour … Read more
Sir, —Your last issue (HI 15.3, May/June 2007), which included a numberof articles on Ireland and slavery, was, as usual, excellent. I wouldlike, however, to offer a corrective to a frequently made mistake inyour editorial. The opening sentence stated that ‘This year marks thebicentenary of the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, of whichIreland … Read more
Sir Charles Trevelyan, notorious in Irish folk memory for the harsh way he coordinated famine relief in 1845–7, visited Dublin Zoo in the early 1860s, prior to his departure for Calcutta. He had been governor of Madras in 1859 but was recalled in 1860; in 1862 he was sent to India again, this time as finance minister. … Read more
Mir Aulad remains a bit of an enigma, especially as his name and origins are subject to speculation. Sometimes spelt phonetically, ‘Meer Owlad Allee’ was from Oudh (now known as Audah), which had been one of the provinces of the Mughal Empire in India. Whilst this area was effectively a vassal of the British East … Read more
Sir,—First of all may I compliment you on the excellent layout of my article on ‘Captain’ Boycott in your last issue (HI 19.1, Jan./Feb. 2011). The featured photo of Boycott’s house at Keem was provided by a student of the Achill Archaeological School, Connie Harrison, and she had requested that she be credited in the … Read more