The pope’s eleven

Why doesn’t the Vatican City, a sovereign state, represented at the United Nations, have a football team? After all, other European micro-states—Liechtenstein, the Faroe Islands (in Ireland’s qualifying group for the 2014 World Cup), Andorra and San Marino (like the Vatican, also surrounded by Italian territory)—have international football teams. Sure, it only has a population … Read more

Ó Dálaigh not the only president to resign

Sir,—Bookworm (HI 19.4, July/August 2011) states that Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh was the only president of Ireland to resign from office. Not so; Mary Robinson also resigned her office in 1997 in order to take up the post of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.—Yours etc.,DERMOT QUINNDublin 13 Subscribe to History Ireland in print or digital … Read more