Sponsored by the Folger Institute for British Political Thought, Washington DC, this, the second of three seminars on political thought in Ireland, will run from 8 May to 13 June 1997. It will ask how Gaelic/Catholic, Scots/Presbyterian, English/Anglican clergymen, intellects and scholars contributed to the development of a distinctive Irish political culture and identity during … Read more
The Scotch-Irish: from the north of Ireland to the making of America Ron Chepesiuk (McFarland & Co., North Carolina, £17.95) 0786422734 To buy or not to buy? This is the constant dilemma we all face when we pick up a book that has just been published. With a long-standing and particular interest in the Scotch-Irish, … Read more
Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson: a political soldier Keith Jeffrey (Oxford University Press, £40, €57) ISBN 9780198203582Sir Henry Wilson has not been treated well by historians. As a soldier, he rose to the top of his profession and played a significant role in formulating Allied policy after 1917, which contributed to victory over the Central … Read more
Emergency Law in Ireland 1922–1948 Seosamh Ó Longaigh (Four Courts Press, €55) ISBN 9781851829224 The last years of British government in Ireland, 1916–21, saw the use of extraordinary legislation and military courts on a scale unprecedented since the eighteenth century. Individual executions, such as that of Kevin Barry in November 1920, undermined the legitimacy of … Read more
The Orange Order: a tradition betrayed Brian Kennaway (Methuen, £15.99, ?23.25) ISBN 0 413 77535 6 The author of this work has been an Orangeman for over 40 years and a senior member of the Grand Lodge of Ireland for 25; for years he has been one of the most public faces of Orangeism and … Read more