In the last issue (HI 13.4, July/August 2005) Peter Hart stated that my views ‘are summed up in the subtitle’ of my biography of Tom Barry—IRA Freedom Fighter. Having researched Barry’s life and career for some years, I believe the title is apt. Whether we agree or disagree, he spent a great part of his … Read more
If I may begin at the end of Niall Meehan’s letter, he refers to his ‘promotion’ of—and my non-participation in—‘this important debate’ on the Kilmichael ambush. In fact, I have been debating the ambush and other aspects of the revolution in Cork since my first book, The IRA and its enemies, came out in 1998. … Read more
Sir, —Peter Hart in his interview (HI 13.2, March/April 2005) dismissesmy work in Tom Barry: IRA freedom fighter, saying that it ‘containsalmost no new evidence’ despite my in-depth analysis of the Kilmichaelambush, the sectarian issue (1920–22) that Peter Hart places suchemphasis on in his book (but not in the interview) and other aspects ofTom Barry’s … Read more
Sir, —If Sir Henry Wilson (Henry Hughes Wilson, to give him his full name) is best remembered for the circumstances of his death, why then were we not told about his assassins—Reginald Dunn (known as ‘Reggie’ Dunn among the earliest group of Irish students at St Mary’s College, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham) and Joseph O’Sullivan—both ex-British … Read more
CK: What is the nature of this collection? VL: The Bureau of Military History was established by the government in 1947 with the remit of gathering material relating to the period 1913 to 1921. So they set about establishing who was alive and interviewing those people. CK: What kind of people were they looking for? … Read more