The best travel books always have a back story: the line that goes back through time, tethering the writer to the reason why they wanted to write this particular book, make this particular journey. When Dervla Murphy was a child in Lismore, Co. Waterford, she received gifts of a second-hand bicycle and an atlas for … Read more
All historical study is principally concerned with analysing the structures and processes of power. Maria Misra’s history is an eloquently spun meditation on the great shifts in political, religious, territorial and cultural control that have contributed to the emergence of modern India as an economic superpower. The first half of the book spans the rise … Read more
The story of how Chester Beatty came to bequeath his collection of oriental art to Ireland is quite well known by now. Although the American-born mining tycoon had some distant Irish ancestry, his decision to move to Dublin resulted from his dislike of the Labour government elected in Britain after World War II. He spent … Read more
Muide Éire was a strikingly ambitious history of the depiction of Ireland and the Irish on both big and small screens, from The Quiet Man to The Late Late Show. Written by Ruth Lysaght and directed by Cathal Watters, the four episodes of the series eschewed a chronological narrative and, instead, picked out four themes … Read more
Child clerical sexual abuse, denial and cover-up Sir,—I read your editorial (HI 18.3, May/June 2010) with concern because it is upsetting to think of anyone who is usually positive expressing such despair at aspects of present-day life in Ireland. But I have to disagree with your suggestions regarding denial and cover-up of the sexual abuse … Read more