Ireland and the First World War Sir,—George Boyce’s article ‘Ireland and the First World War’ (HI autumn 1994) contained a number of inaccuracies regarding Irish involvement in this conflict: l) He blithely states that ‘The 10th and 16th Irish Divisions were almost exclusively Catholic’ (p.49). Perhaps the more important question, which he unfortunately ignores, is—were … Read more
Huguenot archive for Ireland launchedThe Irish Section of the Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland held a reception in the Church of Ireland Theological College, Dublin, on 24 September 1994, at which the Huguenot Archive in the Representative Church Body Library, Dublin 14, was formally launched. Fellows of the Society and its Irish Section … Read more
W.J. McCormack (Irish Academic Press, £27.50) The Dublin Paper War is the latest statement of over a decade’s work, building on the ideas of the author’s earlier book, Ascendancy and Tradition (1985). It sparked a debate on the origin of the concept ‘Protestant Ascencancy’: the latest book attempts to answer that question definitively. The mixing … Read more
Joseph McMinn (Appletree Press, £15.99) Appearing a year before the 250th anniversary of Swift’s death in 1745, Joseph McMinn’s Jonathan’s Travels performs admirably the long overdue task of locating the Dean firmly in his native land. Swift belongs to the world, of course: even during his lifetime Gulliver’s Travels attracted an international audience. That he … Read more
W.H. Crawford (Ulster Historical Foundation, £6.95) For three decades Bill Crawford has been enlightening us about the evolution of the economy and society in his native Ulster. He has published a series of mould-breaking articles, without which our understanding of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Ulster would be seriously impoverished. His essential focus has been the linen … Read more