While the history of death and burial has over recent years become well established in Europe, it has, for many reasons, made little impact on Irish historiography. This is unfortunate for, as Susan Fry points out in the preface, many aspects of social, cultural and religious life in the past may be illuminated through study … Read more
The presentation of Irish culture as a commodity has developed into a remarkable world-wide phenomenon in recent years. The success of Irish writers, musicians and dancers on the global stage continues to surpass all expectations, and shows no signs of abating. In Ireland itself, the latest economic boom (however selective), combined with the evolving peace … Read more
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 more non-cartographic illustrations, especially … Read more
In May 1488 Henry VII pardoned thirty-three Irish magnates for having allegedly provided support for the ill-fated Lambert Simnel conspiracy which had threatened the throne in favour of the Yorkists in the previous year. Drawn from the church, peerage, administration and urban communities, this group of magnates not only indicates the degree of influence the … Read more
In Ireland today, as elsewhere, fosterage finds its place in society as a much altered carry-over from the past. Nowadays, it arises for a negative reason: the inability of biological parents to cope, for whatever reason. Fosterage in the past was the antithesis of this. It was a form of child-rearing chosen and upheld for … Read more