A history of the media in Ireland Christopher Morash (Cambridge University Press, £45) ISBN 9780521843928 The Revd Alexander R. C. Dallas was convinced that the second coming of Christ was due in 1872. Unconvinced that the Catholics of Ireland would appreciate this, in January 1846 he arranged for a simultaneous letter-drop across the country. … Read more
Michael Collins and the making of a new Ireland (2 vols) Piaras Béaslaí (Éamonn de Búrca for Edmund Burke Publisher, Ä95) ISBN 9780946130436 First of all, congratulations are in order to the publisher and 162 subscribers who made possible the reprinting of this book (originally published in 1926). The price may seem steep but … Read more
Hats off to the hard-working editorial team—Mary Ann Lyons, Fearghal McGarry and Dominic Carroll—at Irish Historical Studies (ISSN 00211214), which continues to be published on schedule and to a high standard (albeit with its trademark austere presentation). In the latest issue (Vol. XXXVI, No. 144, November 2009, and received shortly thereafter) Fergus Campbell (‘Reign of … Read more
The Ulster Museum Botanic Gardens, Belfast www.nmni.com, +44 (0)28 90440000 [048 90440000 from RoI] by Tony Canavan Two of Belfast’s iconic buildings recently reopened after being closed for refurbishment. The City Hall, once seen as a bastion of unionism, used the reopening to rebrand itself as the ‘people’s hall’ where all Belfast’s citizens would … Read more
Invictus Directed by Clint Eastwood by John West Apartheid and how to confront it caused a split in most countries. In Ireland in 1970 the IRFU followed the mantra that sport and politics should be kept quite separate and they were keen to welcome the Springboks to Dublin. Outside Lansdowne Road the anti-apartheid marchers, … Read more