Early Modern History (1500–1700) – Page 60

Anti-Catholicism in Northern Ireland, 1600-1998: the Mote and the Beam, John D. Brewer and Gareth I. Higgins. (Macmillan Press, £16.99 ISBN 0333746341

Apart from the postscript, which in my view is the weakest section of the book owing to its pious, unctuous and preaching tone, Anti-Catholicism in Northern Ireland, was written by Brewer who generously acknowledges Higgins’s collaboration as research assistance by declaring co-authorship of the work. Brewer and Higgins maintain that anti-Catholicism in the North of … Read more

British Consciousness and Identity: the making of Britain, 1533-1707, Brendan Bradshaw and Peter Roberts (eds.). (Cambridge University Press, £45) ISBN O521433835

Although about the making of Britain, this volume also has a disproportionately large Irish content, reflecting the growing interest among Irish historians in viewing Ireland’s ties with England, Scotland, and Wales in a comparative, British context. Yet the volume’s contents also expose the latent tensions in Irish historical circles between writers of conventional history and … Read more

Driving a Wedge within Gaeldom

From earliest times Gaelic Ireland and Scotland, united by the sea, formed part of the same cultural, linguistic, religious, economic and political ethos. The cultural and linguistic homogeneity, together with the political instability of this North Channel World, alarmed central government. For the monarchs and their ministers—whether in Dublin, Edinburgh or London—regarded the economic, political … Read more

Celtic Contrasts: Ireland & Scotland

Golf, because of its Scottish origins, is not among the “foreign games” which members of the GAA are forbidden to play. On the other hand, in the large newsagents of Dublin one can find daily newspapers from every western European country, except Scotland. The Scotsman and The Herald are unobtainable in Dublin. This is perhaps … Read more

Vol. 1: The Origins of Empire, Nicholas Canny (ed.). (Oxford University Press, £30) ISBN 0198205627 Vol. 2: The Eighteenth Century, Peter Marshall (ed.). (Oxford University Press, £30) ISBN 0198205635

The first two volumes of the Oxford History of the British Empire survey ground last comprehensively covered in the Cambridge History of the British Empire, now over half a century old. As such they take their place among a growing number of attempts, ranging from the new Oxford History of England to the new Dictionary … Read more