Luck and the Irish: a brief history of change, 1970–2000 R. F. Foster (Allen Lane, £20) ISBN 9780195179521 Bemused is the word that comes to mind. Roy Foster seems bemused by what has happened here in the past three decades, particularly the past ten years. He is not alone in his mystification. In fact, many … Read more
The Writings of Theobald Wolfe Tone, 1763–1798, Volume III: France, the Rhine, Lough Swilly and death of Tone, January 1797 to November 1798 T. W. Moody, R. B. McDowell and C. J. Woods (eds) (Clarendon Press, £125) ISBN 9780198208808The recent publication of the final volume of his Writings seems an appropriate moment to consider the … Read more
Is nothing sacred? Apparantly the Blarney Stone kissed at considerable risk to life and limb by over 300,000 visitors every year is not the stone. Most of the legends refer to a stone ‘high up in the tower’, a reference to a date-stone that was once visible on the north-east angle of Blarney Castle, with … Read more
Strangers to citizens: the Irish in Europe 1600–1800 National Library of Ireland 2–3 Kildare Street Dublin 2 www.nli.ie Mon.–Wed. 9.30am–8.30pm Thur.–Fri. 9.30am–4.30pm Sun. 9.30am–12.30pm by Tony Canavan This new exhibition staged by the National Library of Ireland is situated in the former Genealogical and Heraldic Museum (and I wonder what happened to that?) a few … Read more
Troid Fhuilteach TG4, 16 January 2008 Fastnet Films by John Gibney Boxing’s profile has declined in Ireland. Although the occasional high-profile bout will attract attention (Hatton v. Mayweather last December, for example) or a new contender capture the imagination (Bernard Dunne—at least before he got battered last August), the sport no longer occupies the space … Read more