Depending on the source and time, Tigernán Ua Ruairc (ob. 1172), the great twelfth-century king of Bréifne, was variously described as a ‘man of great power for a long time’, the ‘surpasser of the Irish in power and in abundance’ and a ‘one-eyed villain, meditating treachery’. In his youth he was anathematised as the perpetrator … Read more
July 17 1935 George William Russell, poet, editor, artist and mystic, known as ‘AE’, died. 18 1610 Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, belligerent Italian painter best remembered for the uncompromising realism of his religious works, died in mysterious circumstances. 21 1920 In Belfast, ‘Protestant and unionist’ workers from Workman Clark’s shipyard marched into … Read more
Sir, —The sidebar on Jim Larkin in Jerome aan de Wiel’s article on ‘Sabotage in the USA’ (HI 18.1, Jan./Feb. 2010) is interesting in that it raises associated issues about Larkin’s stay in America between late 1914 and early 1923. Over the years there has been much speculation as to why Larkin spent so … Read more