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
The earldom of Desmond, 1463–1583: the decline and crisis of a feudal lordship Anthony M. McCormack (Four Courts Press, ?45) ISBN 1851828826 The Gaelic lordship of the O’Sullivan Beare Colin Breen (Four Courts Press, ?45) ISBN 1851829555 Labourers in various fields of endeavour periodically feel called upon to sketch out agendas of desiderata. Historians are … Read more