Ireland and Africa? What has Ireland got to do with Africa? While there was a modest level of emigration to South Africa in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it was nothing like the numbers who emigrated to North America, Australia or even South America. And yet on investigation there are many inter-relations (and … Read more
Believing in action: Concern the first thirty years, 1968–1998 Tony Farmar (Concern, E14.99) ISBN 1 899047 81 6 There was a remarkably rapid mutation in twentieth-century Ireland’s relations with Africa, from its being a rich source of missionaries to being a secular champion of Africa in its times of need and a source of development … Read more
The Irish Army in the Congo, 1960–64: the far battalions David O’Donoghue (Irish Academic Press, hb ?55.50/pb ?25) ISBN 0716528185/0716533197 The UN operation in the former Belgian Congo was a confused and sometimes chaotic affair. Some saw its role as keeping communism out of Africa, others as ending Belgian influence. The force’s mandate was to … Read more
Africa: a modern history Guy Arnold (Atlantic Books, £35 hb) ISBN 1843541750 The state of Africa Martin Meredith (The Free Press, £12.99 pb) ISBN 0743232216 Africa since independence Paul Nugent (Palgrave, ?27.70) ISBN 0333682734 Histories of the hanged David Anderson (Phoenix, £10.99 pb) ISBN 039332754X Britain’s gulag Caroline Elkins (Pimlico, £8.99 pb) ISBN 1844135489 Africa, … Read more
Natural History Museum (National Museum of Ireland) Merrion Street, Dublin 2 www.museum.ie Tues–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 2–5pm by Tony Canavan The Natural History Museum is something of a museum piece in itself, harking back to an era when there was a completely different attitude to wildlife and the environment. The internal architecture of the building is … Read more