At the grave risk of appearing a pedant (God forbid!), may Irespectfully suggest that the reference to Raymond le Gros in yourMay/June 2008 issue (‘On this day’, 1 May 1170, p. 8) meritscorrection? Le Gros was not a Fitzgerald, although he may perhaps beconsidered to have been a Geraldine (the question is rather semantic).The Geraldine … Read more
A chara, —Naturally, I believe, if we are interested in history weshould want all our new residential developments in Ireland to be givennames that relate to the history (and geography) of the various areas.While our local councils have the power to veto pretentious names, theydo not have the time to research the history of areas … Read more
I saw the Protestant Reformation as centrally about civil and religious freedom—the right to read the Bible in one’s own language; to approach God directly with neither priest nor pastor; to interpret the Bible and to assess religious and other issues for oneself. The Catholic Church in contrast was a powerful, wealthy, hierarchical, worldwide institution … Read more
Sir, —Niall Meehan has two errors in his letter on James Craig (HI 16.3,May/June 2008). He says that in my own letter in the previous edition Iquoted the historian Jonathan Bardon as saying that Craig was no bigot.In fact, I did not even mention Bardon. I did, however, refer toPatrick Buckland’s remarks in his biography … Read more
Sir, —I have a little footnote to add to your article on the Eucharistic Congress (HI 15.6, Nov./Dec. 2007). At the time, the country was in severe financial trouble and could not afford new tack for the Blue Hussars. My father, a tailor by trade, was commissioned to make many of the blue saddle-covers for … Read more