The Crowned Harp: Policing in Northern Ireland, Graham Ellison and Jim Smyth (Pluto Press, pb £14.99, hb £45) ISBN 0745313930, 0745313981

My most vivid memory of Northern Ireland remains the police stations in West Belfast. I was familiar from newspaper and television coverage with the murals and graffiti splashed walls that describe the depths of the loyalties and hatreds that have plagued that region. But it was the sight of police officers peering through wire-mesh and … Read more

(Still) Dancing at a Northern Crossroads

Sir,—I read withgreat interest the response of readers (‘letters’, HI Summer 2000) tomy article, ‘Charles Lambe and the West of Ireland’ (HI Spring 2000). Jim Jenkins wonders if Dancing at a Northern Crossroads is really setin Armagh and not the west of Ireland. While Charles Lamb came fromPortadown, the important part of his training took … Read more

The Catholic Church and Catholic Schools in Northern Ireland, Michael McGrath. (Irish Academic Press, £39.50) ISBN 0716526514

Michael McGrath traces the costly financial implications of the voluntary Catholic sector from the early years through to the last decade of the twentieth century. He shows how education had always received financial assistance from the Catholic community, unlike contemporary Protestants, long before the creation of Northern Ireland. His story is a testament to the … Read more

Dancing at a Northern Crossroads

Sir,—I read Marie Bourke’s article (‘Charles Lambe and the West ofIreland’, HI Spring 2000) with great interest and learned much from it.However, I was, and remain, puzzled about the dramatic painting byLambe on the front cover, Dancing at a Northern Crossroads. My originaldoubts arose from the word ‘northern’. Marie Bourke ties in the workwith Connemara … Read more

Ireland—A Short History, Johnny Connolly, Tommy Graham and Mícheál Ó Siochrú. (Historical Insights Ireland, cassette £6.99, CD £9.99)

Historical Insights Ireland has been organising historical walking tours Dublin for ten years or more. The walks commence at the front gate of Trinity College and are led by history graduates of the college. During the leisurely two-hour perambulation from Trinity to the old parliament (Bank of Ireland), Temple Bar, Dublin Castle, Christchurch and the … Read more