A chara, —In the July/August 2009 issue of History Ireland and again inthe January/February 2010 book review section, there are references tothe ‘IRA—I ran away’ graffiti that may or may not have appeared on thewalls of Belfast post-August ’69, but something similar definitelyappeared in Kenmare in 1920. General John Joe Rice in his … Read more
Sir, —In his review of the TG4 series Rapairí (HI 18.1, Jan./Feb. 2010),John Gibney mistakenly refers to Willie Corduff instead of Micheál ÓSeighin as a contributor to the first programme in the series. Both menare well-known members of the Rossport 5. As someone who has followedthe course of their campaign over a number of … Read more
Sir, —I refer to Kevin Haddick Flynn’s article on Seán South (HI 15.1,Jan./Feb. 2007). The claim in the final paragraph that there were‘4,000 full-time RUC men’ is inaccurate. The RUC itself never exceeded3,000 from 1922 until 1970. It is true that there were an additional1,500 Ulster Special Constabulary mobilised on a full-time basis, likethe full-time … Read more
Sir, —It is remarkable that in the last issue (HI 15.2, March/April 2007), a non-theme number, there is a ‘platform’ article on John Redmond, a ‘short’ on John O’Leary and a longer ‘sources’ article centred around William O’Brien, three of the leading figures of the different strands of Irish nationalism at the beginning of the … Read more
Sir, —I was grateful for Peter Hart’s thoughtful review of my book Spies, informers and ‘the Anti-Sinn Féin Society’ in the last issue (HI 15.2, March/April 2007). However, I would like to clarify a few issues that he raised. As Prof. Hart points out, my theory about a pro-British civilian spy ring in Cork City … Read more