This study of Sir John Norreys is a refreshing departure from the many derivative biographies of better known Elizabethan figures such as Sir Francis Drake or Sir Walter Raleigh. It is a detailed and well researched account of one career, that includes a great deal of reflection on the nature of Elizabethan land warfare, and … Read more
It has become commonplace for historians of Ireland to describe the events of 1912–1923 as a ‘revolution’, typically without attempting to define that term. These three complementary studies of Ireland between 1891 and 1936 all follow suit: Maume concludes with ‘Reflections on a Revolution’; the largest part of Laffan’s study is entitled ‘The Irish Revolution, … Read more
For a long time Irish nationalism was seen primarily in terms of political movements, and there has been a tendency to identify with mass movements rather than elites. Recent theories which emphasise how educational and social obstacles to upward mobility for minorities in a professional society encourage nationalist movements has revived interest in the Catholic … Read more
That Ireland escaped the familiar pattern of post-colonial military despotism is remarkable given that our political forebears emerged from a militant milieu. The transition from militancy to constitutional democracy is best examined in the context of the State’s attitude to violence. Beginning with a refreshingly candid account of the civil war, Defending Ireland traces the … Read more
In the seventeenth-century poem ‘Tuireamh na hÉireann’, the war in Ireland between 1641 and 1653 is described as ‘an cogadh do chríochnaigh Éire’ [the war that finished Ireland], and there is no disputing the importance of Cromwell’s impact on this conflict. He landed at Ringsend in August 1649, and during the subsequent nine-month campaign displayed … Read more