In 1990 British Tory politician Norman Tebbitt coined his controversial ‘cricket test’: irrespective of whether they held UK passports, which team did Asian and Caribbean immigrants to Britain support? The equivalent ‘loyalty test’ in Ireland must surely be the name you use for the ‘Maiden City’ and its surrounding county: Derry or Londonderry? That this … Read more
Sir, —In his review of Coolacrease (HI 17.2, March/April 2009) JoostAugusteijn presents himself as a neutral arbiter between the authors ofthe work and the writers of the tradition it criticises. In fact, it isclear that he is as committed as Philip O’Connor and his contributors,only from an opposing pole and in a more subtle manner. … Read more
Sir, —I was disappointed that your review of Car Bomber (‘TV Eye’, HI 16.5, Sept./Oct. 2008), while well informed, missed out on the fact that an actual car bomb was used in Ireland in the 1920s, and so the scene in Neil Jordan’s Michael Collins was not so far-fetched. During the Civil War, on 18 … Read more
Sir, —I must protest at the treatment given to my book Redmond: theParnellite by your reviewer in the Sept./Oct. 2008 issue. My complaintrefers not to any unfavourable evaluation of the book but to theslipshod nature of the review. There are many indications that the reviewer has only a passingacquaintance with the period covered by the … Read more
Sir, —Over the past year several letter-writers have raised the issue of sectarianism and ethnic cleansing in the Irish Revolution and afterward, for instance Nick Foley (HI 16.3, May/June) and Clive Sinclair-Poulton (HI 16.2, March/April, and HI 16.5, Sept./Oct.). The blunt answer is that human nature does not change and the present is the key … Read more