Sir, —The truest answer to R. M. Douglas’s opening question in his article on Ailtirí na hAiseirighe (HI 17.5, Sept./Oct. 2009), as to ‘which side the country favoured in World War II’, is ‘ours’. Certainly, neither the US nor British leaders were impressed by southern Ireland’s stance; the one real difference southern Ireland might have … Read more
Sir, —Angus Mitchell, reviewing Marnie Hay’s excellent biography of Bulmer Hobson (HI 17.5, Sept./Oct. 2009), remarked that ‘Towards the end of his life Hobson devoted much energy to defending Roger Casement, a fellow warrior in his “moral insurrection”. But in the malicious and confusing media debate that raged over his reputation in the 1950s … Read more
The Tower Museum, Derry O’Doherty’s Tower, Union Hall Place www.derrycity.gov.uk/museums, +44 (0)28 71372411 October–May, Tues.–Sat. 10am–5pm The city of Derry could be described as a monument of the Plantation of Ulster. It owes its existence and its famous never-breached walls to the Honourable the Irish Society, that association of London guilds which undertook to … Read more
Throughout Ireland there are monuments, place-names, pitches and pavilions that convey the story of where and how the Irish played. No inventory of these sites currently exists, however. Sporting sites tell us a great deal about how societies are organised by class, gender, religion and social status. They are linked to the social and cultural … Read more
In 1608–9, through a mixture of threats and promises from James I, the City of London become involved in the most planned and orderly of the various plantation schemes in Ireland. Fifty-five of its livery companies eventually became financial backers of the plantation, and in return their governing body, the Irish Society, received a royal … Read more