John Horne & Alan Kramer (Yale University Press, £27.50) ISBN 0521582172 Conceiving Revolution—Irish Nationalist propaganda during the First World War Ben Novick(Four Courts Press, E24.95) ISBN 1851826203 The justification of war can be a bitter and acrimonious matter capable of driving regimes to desperate ends to maintain the moral high ground. One state’s victory is … Read more
Alan Gilsenan’s two-part documentary The Ghost of Roger Casement was neatly timed to coincide with new evidence on the Black Diaries controversy, which has since erupted in the letters page of the Irish Times. The programmes rightly reflected the complexity of Casement’s life, and the difficulty in analysing a character who was at the heart … Read more
Despite a growing body of historical writing on the life of General Eoin O’Duffy, there are still large gaps in our knowledge of this enigmatic figure. His various roles as organiser par excellence in the GAA, Irish Volunteers, Garda Síochána and, of course, as head of the Irish Brigade during the Spanish Civil War, are … Read more
Sir,—I must take issue with some of Adrian Smith’s points about RobertGregory (HI, Winter 2001, ‘Major Robert Gregory and the Irish Air Acesof 1917-18’). Firstly I have to differ, as do others, with his opinionof Gregory, that he ‘was never more than a moderately talented artist’.What evidence does the writer have to support this contention? … Read more
Sir,—I read with interest Tomás O’Riordan’s article on the theft of theIrish Crown Jewels (HI, Winter 2001). I have written an entry onFrancis Richard (‘Frank’) Shackleton for the Royal Irish Academy’sDictionary of Irish Biography and thought that your readers might beinterested in some further information regarding his later life. Afterthe theft of the jewels and … Read more