Nicholas Allen (Four Courts Press, E45) ISBN 18518269 George Russell (Æ) is an elusive figure. He is acknowledged as one of the great names of the Irish Literary Revival, but scholars have found it hard to recapture his contemporary impact. Russell is remembered primarily as the ‘saint’ who failed to develop artistically, who through his … Read more
Charles Trevelyan and the great Irish Famine Robin Haines (Four Courts Press, 285) ISBN 1851827552 In tackling Charles Trevelyan’s role in the Great Famine, Robin Haines has entered something of a historiographical minefield. The Famine, as a subject of academic research, has consistently exposed the polemics of Irish history-writing, from John Mitchel’s overtly nationalist verdict … Read more
Padraig Lenihan (Cork University Press, e57.25) ISBN 1859182445 The study of Confederate Ireland has experienced a renaissance of late, after years of relative neglect. However, scholars have concentrated for the most part on the social and political developments of the period, highlighting the importance of factionalism in undermining the confederate war effort. Padraig Lenihan’s Confederate … Read more
A nation in medieval Ireland? Perspectives on Gaelic national identity in the Middle Ages (British Archaeological Reports, British Series, 367) Thomas Finan (Archaeopress, £29) ISBN 1841716006 The question of ‘identity’ in medieval Ireland is all the rage these days, and not simply in the sense of commanding a great deal of interest. For several decades … Read more
Marie Coleman (Irish Academic Press, E45) ISBN 0716527030 The War of Independence, 1919–21, was anything but a ‘national’ revolt; the areas of activity were in Munster (principally Cork and Tipperary), Dublin and, most interestingly, the small midlands county of Longford. Marie Coleman’s meticulously researched and thoughtful study has filled an important historical lacuna in explaining … Read more