Sir,—James S. Donnelly Jr, in his article ‘A Church in Crisis’ (HI Autumn 2000), writes: ‘Hypocrisy, a deadly cardinal sin in the court of public opinion, was a relatively minor note in the Bishop Eamonn Casey affair, but it was the dominant feature of the scandal of 1994-5 surrounding the name of Fr Michael Cleary’. … Read more
On 28 June 1914, Sir Roger Casement delivered an oration beside Shane O’Neill’s stone, above Cushendun, deep in the Glens of Antrim. It brought to an end six months of recruiting of Irish Volunteers and proved to be his last public address in Ireland. The following day he travelled to Glasgow and from there by … Read more
Why do the Blueshirts exercise such a fascination for us? Perhaps because they seem to make sense of Irish history in the 1930s by offering a parallel with the rest of Europe. Irish historians have always been more circumspect about the meaning of Blueshirtism. F.S.L. Lyons, in an optimistic mood, saw the Blueshirt movement as … Read more
When the North of Ireland exploded into violence in August 1969families began to cross the border to seek refuge in the South. TheIrish Army sought to cater for the refugees’ ‘elementary needs such asfood, shelter and sanitary facilities’ at various military camps. By1970 the military authorities were satisfied that the army had actedwith speed and … Read more
On 29 October 1970 the Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, announced thatarrangements had been made with the government of India forrepatriation of the remains of three of the Connaught Rangers mutineers(see Thomas Bartlett, ‘The Connaught Rangers Mutiny, India, July 1920’,HI 6.1 Spring 1998). ‘The National Graves Association are in charge ofthe arrangement on behalf of the families.’ … Read more