Bloody Sunday remembered at Croke Park

Bloody Sunday began with the attacks of Michael Collins’s ‘squad’ upon the British intelligence network in Dublin, and specifically the so-called ‘Cairo Gang’. These were the ‘particular ones’ whom Collins felt were bringing British intelligence closer and closer to the heart of the republican movement. By the end of the day, news of the deaths … Read more

The Celtic Twilight and the Celtic Tiger

This is not the first time, argues Bill Kissane, that an economic crisis in Ireland has been seen as a crisis of the political system, nor the first time that Irish people have had to consider how democracy can be organised under conditions of global capitalism. As Ireland goes through its ‘second crisis of liberalism’, … Read more

Sir Roger Casement’s Heart of Darkness: the 1911 documents

Angus Mitchell (Irish Manuscripts Commission, E24.50) ISBN 1874280983 Casement Angus Mitchell (Haus, £8.99) ISBN 1904341411 Roger Casement: the Black Diaries with a study of his background, sexuality and Irish political life Jeffrey Dudgeon (Belfast Press, £25) ISBN 0953928721 Most of the documents—official and unofficial letters, extended accounts for the Foreign Office supplemented by notes, annotations … Read more

Forgotten star uncovered

In a new book, Ireland’s first ‘soul’ singer: the forgotten story of Mary Connolly, Eric Villiers has uncovered a long-lost piece of Ireland’s social and theatrical history. It’s a century-old tale brimming with the tragedies and successes in the life of an extraordinary street singer who swept to international fame in 1917. It has lain … Read more