When the republican campaign against the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and others thought sympathetic to Dublin Castle became more violent and successful in late 1919, the police abandoned hundreds of rural facilities to consolidate shrinking ranks in fewer, fortified stations. The pressure exerted directly on RIC men, their families, friends and those who did business … Read more
On Saturday 11 February 1922 a gun battle at a County Monaghan railway station resulted in the deaths of four Ulster Special Constables, the local IRA commandant and the wounding of numerous other combatants and civilians. What really happened? Robert Lynch investigates. The events at Clones were inevitably interpreted in radically different ways by both … Read more
One May afternoon in 1868, a lanky adolescent in thick spectacles was hunched over some showy Chopin at a piano in Bray. As his fingers scattered notes profusely towards the Dargle, a three-year-old boy called Harry took advantage by secretly and expertly picking his pockets. Aside from the teenage pianist’s unusual virtuosity there was nothing … Read more
Sir, —Liam Ó Ruairc’s interesting review of the work of Peter Hart and Meda Ryan (HI, 12.1, Spring 2004) mentions Tom Barry remaining a member of the IRA from the Civil War until 1938 and also his being a ‘staunch’ supporter of the Provisional IRA. Like so much with Barry’s life the reality is … Read more
Sir, —In his article ‘Birth pangs of a nation: Senator Thomas Westropp Bennett and the Irish Free State’ (HI 11.4, Winter 2003), Bruce-Andrew Finch presents some interesting information but weakens its historical value by placing it in a partisan context while overlooking obvious questions. An example of the latter is contained in the … Read more