Sir,—Congratulations on the Spring 2003 edition; I found it very interesting and liked the variety of the subjects. I was especially interested in D.R. O’Connor Lysaght’s article on Redmondism. I wonder if you can help identify the spectacle-wearing character in the cartoon from the Irish Worker. I think it might be Pierce O’Mahony. I would … Read more
‘Itinerants first went on the road due to extreme poverty in Ireland. Unlike British or European gypsies the itinerants are the product not of an ancient, highly cultured race with its own folklore and culture but of the immiseration of a section of the ordinary, illiterate peasantry in Ireland . . . Itinerants went and … Read more
An end to foolishness ‘. . . there is an end to foolishness; the time for talk is ended’—not a cynical comment on the current (seemingly never-ending) negotiations to form a Northern Ireland executive but, as Kevin Haddick Flynn relates in this issue, the last words penned by Seán South 50 years ago before he … Read more
Sir, —While Daniel Mulhall’s article on golf’s early days in Ireland (HI14.5, Sept./Oct. 2006) is very interesting, I suspect that heunderestimates the extent of nationalist hostility to golf in theperiod. The relative scarcity of denunciations of golf in nationalistpublications may reflect the fact that its select and often olderclientele meant that it did not compete … Read more
Sir, —In the Jan./Feb. 2005 issue of History Ireland you kindly permitted our campaign the opportunity to raise the case for pardons for 26 Irish-born British soldiers executed for military offences during World War I. Many of your readers offered support and constructive criticism that was greatly appreciated and beneficial to the Irish effort. I … Read more