It had seriously occurred to me, on readingStevan Ellis’s ‘“More irish than the Irish themselves’?: the“Anglo-Irish” in Tudor Ireland’ (HI Spring 1999), which seems to arguefor a total separation of the ‘Gaelic’ and ‘English’ elements inmedieval Irish history, that this view, expressed with heavy Swiftiansarcasm, represents a deliberate parody. How else could Dr Ellis regardthe … 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
James Lydon has undertaken a daunting task in writing a history of Ireland from ancient times to the present. It is difficult to cover the broad sweep of history in any detail and too easy to include chronological description instead of analysis or explanation. Yet the author has risen to the challenge admirably and not … Read more
In October 1996 the foundations of what is thought to have been the thirteenth-century Augustinian priory of St Mary were located during building work for a new shopping-centre at Mullingar, County Westmeath. During the archaeological rescue excavation under the direction of Michael Gibbons, more than thirty burials were discovered, two of which contained scallop shells, … Read more
It would be hard to exaggerate the significance of Duffy’s book which marks an important stage in the development of Irish historiography. It represents a new point of departure in the study of medieval Irish history by beginning closer to the year 1000 than to 1169. Duffy identifies elements of continuity from pre- to post- … Read more