Sir, —Writing from Cork (HI 16.2, March/April 2008), CliveSinclair-Poulton embraces the view that more needs to be taught on whathappened in the 1920s and he reckons that there should be no taboos. Isay Amen to both propositions. A good place to start might be tworecent (March and April) obituaries in the Irish Times, one for … Read more
Sir, —Niall Meehan has two errors in his letter on James Craig (HI 16.3,May/June 2008). He says that in my own letter in the previous edition Iquoted the historian Jonathan Bardon as saying that Craig was no bigot.In fact, I did not even mention Bardon. I did, however, refer toPatrick Buckland’s remarks in his biography … Read more
Sir, —Michael Kennedy’s article in the last issue, ‘“Men that came in with the sea”: the Coastwatching Service and the sinking of the Arandora Star’, showed the function of the lookout posts, and I am looking forward to reading the author’s book, Guarding neutral Ireland: the coast watching service and military intelligence, 1939–1945. The sad … Read more
Philanthropy is not the prerogative of the wealthy alone. We must think long and hard about what philanthropy in this country could and should mean—creating a better place for one’s fellow citizens by sharing one’s expertise and skills as well as capital. It is time for reflection on and a renewal of an old concept. … Read more
Writer/historian from Farrancallin, Co. Westmeath. He achieved 257 marks in history in the Intermediate Certificate, i.e. full marks plus seven extra for doing the exam through the medium of Irish! He left school without sitting the Leaving Certificate. He wrote plays, short stories, poems and books in Irish, for example Bíonn an fhírinne searbh (1982) … Read more