A nation in medieval Ireland? Perspectives on Gaelic national identity in the Middle Ages (British Archaeological Reports, British Series, 367) Thomas Finan (Archaeopress, £29) ISBN 1841716006 The question of ‘identity’ in medieval Ireland is all the rage these days, and not simply in the sense of commanding a great deal of interest. For several decades … Read more
The transformation of Ireland 1900–2000 Diarmaid Ferriter (Profile Books, £30) ISBN 1861973071 The blurb misleads by suggesting that these 759 pages (excluding the scholarly apparatus) are about the transformation of Ireland from an ‘impoverished . . . corner of the British Empire’ into ‘the “Celtic Tiger”’. In the first chapter, dealing with the years 1900–12, … Read more
As readers are by now aware, Bookworm has a particular fondness for dictionaries. Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable was first compiled by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer (1810–97) in 1870. Ever since it has settled arguments, proved essential to compilers of quizzes and crosswords, sent browsers happily to sleep, saved the sanity of distracted parents beset … Read more
Celebrating transatlantic Waterford —the Waterford–Newfoundland connection Waterford Museum of Treasures The Granary, Merchant’s Quay April–Sept.: Mon.–Sat. 9.30am–6pm; Sun. 11am–6pm Oct.–March: Mon.–Fri. 10am–5pm; Sat. and Sun. 11am–5pm by Johanne Devlin Frew The link between Ireland and Newfoundland is unique in the Irish diaspora. Given that the Irish comprised 40 per cent of its population by 1750 … Read more
Hidden History RTÉ1 Family Fortune: de Valera’s Irish Press, 2 Nov 2004 Directed by Gerry Nelson for Mint Productions Joe Cahill, IRA man, 7 Dec 2004 Directed by Jonathon Golden for DoubleBand Films by Eamon O’Flaherty RTÉ’s Hidden History series offered an impressive collection of documentaries before Christmas. The focus was heavily biographical—Women of the … Read more