Book Reviews – Page 60 – History Ireland

First of the small nations. The beginnings of Irish foreign policy in the interwar years, 1919–1932

GERARD KEOWN Oxford University Press £65 ISBN 9780198745129 Reviewed by: Michael Kennedy There are two central themes running through this accessible, elegant andauthoritative account of early Irish foreign policy. Firstly, that the ambitious rhetoric of pre-1922 Irish nationalists to develop an international and geopolitical rationale for Irish independence was not always matched by the foreign … Read more

BOOKWORM

Michael English, The three castles of Dublin: an eclectic history of Dublin through the evolution of the city’s coat of arms (Dublin City Council/Four Courts Press, €26.95 hb, 272pp, ISBN 9781907002267). Mary McAuliffe and Liz Gillis, Richmond Barracks 1916: we were there—77 women of the Easter Rising (Dublin City Council/Four Courts Press, €22.45 pb, 276pp, … Read more

The Belfast Blitz: the city in the war years

BRIAN BARTON Ulster Historical Foundation £19.99 ISBN 9781909556324 Reviewed by: Geoffrey Roberts At the core of this book is a compelling account of the Luftwaffe’s blitz on Belfast in April–May 1941. When war broke out in 1939 the city did not expect to be attacked by German bombers: it was geographically remote and deemed a … Read more

The GAA and revolution in Ireland 1913–1923

GEARÓID Ó TUATHAIGH (ed.) Collins Press €29.99 ISBN 9781848892545 Reviewed by: Liam Alex Heffron Growing up in a county where the perennial question revolved around whether Mayo footballers would ‘do it’ this year, the GAA was so interwoven into the tapestry of parish life that to question it was akin to questioning my parents’ marriage. … Read more

At home in the revolution: what women said and did in 1916

LUCY McDIARMID Royal Irish Academy €25 ISBN 9731908996749 Reviewed by: Mary McAuliffe In this beautifully produced book Lucy McDiarmid, using memories, letters, diaries, archival sources and personal accounts, writes, with clarity and rigour, on the thoughts, ideals and actions of women during the 1916 Rising. She begins with the wonderful story of young Cumann na … Read more