Sir, —This photograph has defied identities and definition despitepublication in County Wexford newspapers and submission to the NationalLibrary. Its importance is evident by the formality in pose, thepresence of two bishops in silk hats, George Noble, Count Plunkett, andone other identified, active, influential but unobtrusivenationalist—the gentleman in the back row at the extreme right. He … 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
DONNELLY, Dan (1788–1820), pugilist, was born in Townsend St., Dublin, eldest surviving son (having been predeceased by four sets of twins) of seventeen children of Joseph Donnelly, carpenter, of Dublin; his mother’s name was Gore. Typical of his chosen sport, his life is one in which reality and mythology are not easily separated. Legend holds … Read more
The Irish Texts Society has just launched three new books. Kevin Murray (Dept. of Early and Medieval Irish, UCC) has prepared an edition, translation and analysis of the early Irish vision-tale Baile in Scáil that throws considerable new light on its origins and development. Very topically in the light of recent public debate concerning the … Read more
MC: Tell me about your family connections with Ireland. PM: My mother’s family are Roches from County Cork, who have lived there since the middle of the thirteenth century. They are an Anglo-Irish family who always resided there—they weren’t absentees. I was brought up with a fairly ‘green’ understanding of the relationships between the people … Read more