By John Biggins Before the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in Ireland, a sophisticated legal system had already existed for centuries. These intricate laws had been committed to writing mostly between the seventh and eighth centuries by Christianised learned classes who wove rich tapestries of law, poetry, myth, religion, history and tradition generally (senchas). We know … Read more
By Charlotte Murphy The unusually heavy rain earlier this year has led to fears (yet again) of a looming fodder shortage this summer, while yields of potatoes and other vegetables are expected to be very poor. While this has led to speculation that it is linked to climate change, such extreme weather events were not … Read more
By Meredith Cutrer and Colleen M. Thomas Despite significant research, there is much that we still do not know about Ireland’s ninth- and tenth-century stone crosses, the renowned symbols of medieval Irish artistic prowess, including the precise functions they served in their communities. A number of Ireland’s early stone crosses contain a mystery that might … Read more
ELLEN McWILLIAMS Beyond the Pale Books €18.99 ISBN 9781914318245 REVIEWED BY Barry Keane Barry Keane is the author of Massacre in West Cork (Mercier Press, 2014). A sense of place excites the Irish imagination. Living awkwardly between the Irish and English worlds, Ellen McWilliams lectures in English literature in Exeter. Her husband was studying the … Read more
THOMAS KENEALLY Faber & Faber €17.50 ISBN 9780571387960 REVIEWED BY Frank MacGabhann Frank MacGabhann is a retired lawyer currently researching the Catalpa rescue of Fenian prisoners in 1876. The late Gore Vidal maintained that one can learn more, sometimes far more, about a historical period or personage from a historical novel than from many historians. … Read more