Early Modern History (1500–1700) – Page 65

Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape, F.H.A. Aalen, Kevin Whelan and Matthew Stout (eds). (Cork University Press, £35) ISBN 1-85918-095-7

Reviewed by J.H. Andrews Among the various terms applied to works of reference, ‘atlas’ has now become the most user-friendly, more companionable than ‘companion’ and certainly less repellent than ‘dictionary’, ‘directory’ or ‘encyclopaedia’. To match its changing semantic context, the typical modern atlas has fewer and simpler maps than its mid-century predecessors; it also has … Read more

The Wild Geese of the Antrim MacDonnells, Hector MacDonnell. (Irish Academic Press, £25 ISBN 0-7165-2609-3

Reviewed by Gráinne Henry The purpose of this book is to give an insight into the achievements and tribulations of an Irish family in exile—namely the descendants of Sorley Boy MacDonnell, a sixteenth-century County Antrim lord. The book is divided into three parts. Part I examines some prominent MacDonnells who made their homes in … Read more

The Protestant Reformation in Ireland 1590-1641 (new edition), Alan Ford. (Four Courts Press, hb £37, pb£17) ISBN 1-85782-314-X, 1-85182-282-8

Reviewed by Henry A. Jefferies It is a pleasure to see Alan Ford’s impressive study of the early Stuart church in Ireland reprinted. Four Courts Press is to be highly commended for undertaking this venture, and for producing a book whose format is infinitely superior to that of the edition of 1985. Dr Ford has … Read more

Myths and Marches History, Class and the Siege of Derry 1689

by Mark McGovern In August this year, as in almost every year for the last two centuries, members of the Apprentice Boys of Derry marched in the city to commemorate the ending of the Siege of Derry of 1689. The deal struck between the Apprentice … Read more

Edmund Burke on our Present Discontents

On the bicentenary of the death of the great Irish writer and statesman, Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Luke Gibbons looks at his reflections on history, commerce and culture. In one of his rare appearances in contemporary Irish culture, Edmund Burke surfaces as a footnote to one of the more poignant refrains in Brian Friel’s classic play, … Read more