Sir, —In his examiner’s report on my Harry Boland’s Irish Revolution (HI 12.2, Summer 2004), Manus O’Riordan awards me ‘9 out of 10 as to balanced presentation of a voluminous amount of evidence’, but a miserable fail in applying my ‘declared aim of impartiality’ to the ‘accompanying commentary’. Though I declared no such aims in … Read more
Sir ,—Brendan Bradshaw’s interview technique in relation to Tim Pat Coogan (HI 12.2, Summer 2004) was anodyne in the extreme. The nationally minded renowned academic Professor Bradshaw afforded the green light to Mr Coogan in every sense of the word, allowing him to propagate, unchallenged, his Gaedhil distorted nationalist image of Irish history. Mr … Read more
Sir, —I am very grateful for your encouraging review of County Wexfordin the Rare Oul’ Times No. 4 (Wexford and the South-East c. 1910–1924)(‘Bookworm’, HI 14.3, May/June 2006). It is important, however, to addthat the film and stage actor Stanley Holloway was included since hewas a junior officer in the British Army at Enniscorthy when … Read more
Sir, —As current Head of the School of History and Anthropology atQueen’s I am happy to reassure Eoin Dillon (‘Platform’, HI 14.4,July/August 2006) that African history is far from defunct in Belfast.We have already appointed a lecturer in African history (Dr RobertBlyth) to fill the gap left by the tragic death of Martin Lynn in … Read more
Sir, —Col. John Terence O’Neill is entirely right in his observations onDavid O’Donoghue’s book about events in Jadotville, Congo, in September1961 (Reviews, HI 14.4, July/August 2006). Though even the barestknowledge of the Jadotville affair raises questions, anythingapproaching rational and/or informed discussion has long and famouslybeen taboo. However, my new book, Heroes of Jadotville: the soldiers’story, … Read more