The challenges facing academic publishing worldwide have been well rehearsed in recent years. A revolution in book retailing has resulted in large chain stores dominating the market. Focused heavily on bestsellers and rapid turnover, they have squeezed the shelf-space (and shelf-life) of academic titles, and are able to demand ever-higher discounts. At the same time, … Read more
Efforts are under way in County Meath to have a new statue of StPatrick installed on the Hill of Tara. The original statue was removedlast year by the Office of Public Works for refurbishment but was foundto have deteriorated beyond repair. Rathfeigh Historical Society hasacted as secretary of a Tara Committee in negotiations with the … Read more
St Ultan’s Hospital was established in 1919 by Dr Kathleen Lynn and Madeleine ffrench-Mullen in response to socio-medical conditions in Dublin. It was not unusual for women to establish hospitals. This had happened in Britain and the United States in the late nineteenth century to facilitate women’s access to the medical profession. Women on missionary … Read more
Andrew Reed was born on 26 September 1837 in Galway town, the third of four children born to John and Mary (née Adamson) Reed. Andrew Reed’s father was a land agent, but Reed’s mother died three years after his birth and his father later remarried. Reed attended Dame School and Erasmus Smith’s school and was … Read more
If I may begin at the end of Niall Meehan’s letter, he refers to his ‘promotion’ of—and my non-participation in—‘this important debate’ on the Kilmichael ambush. In fact, I have been debating the ambush and other aspects of the revolution in Cork since my first book, The IRA and its enemies, came out in 1998. … Read more