All in the blood. A memoir of the Plunkett family, the 1916 Rising and the War of Independence by Geraldine Plunkett Dillon Honor Ó Brolcháin (ed.) (A. A. Farmar, E25) First, I have to declare an interest. Geraldine Plunkett Dillon was my grandmother. I grew up a few houses away from her; I knew her … Read more
Where’s where in Dublin: a directory of historic locations 1913–1923 Joseph Connell (Four Courts Press, ?15pb, ?29.95hb) ISBN 9780946841820This book has been in the making for more than ten years. A decade of research has culminated in an extremely useful compendium to the history of early twentieth-century Ireland. The author is a practising lawyer in … Read more
The Fenian ideal and Irish nationalism, 1882–1916 M. J. Kelly (Boydell Press, E85) ISBN 1843832046 This book is more a study of Irish nationalist mentalities than it is a political history. Implicit in the author’s approach is the theory that a people’s use of language is the primary factor not only in defining but also … Read more
Ray Gillespie’s Seventeenth century Ireland: making Ireland modern (Gill and Macmillan, 348pp, ?18.99/£14.99, ISBN 0717139468) is the penultimate of the six-part New Gill History of Ireland series (only Ian McBride’s much-awaited Eighteenth century Ireland: ascendancy and dispossession remains to be published; the other four books were featured in Bookworm’s Nov./Dec. 2005 offering). While most surveys … Read more
The War of the World: History’s Age of Hatred Niall Ferguson (Allen Lane, £25) ISBN 9780713997088This book is a tremendous read, thoroughly researched and presented in a style easily followed. Despite often sickening subject-matter, the author holds the reader’s attention. Yet the text raises serious questions that it never answers. It gives facts that do … Read more