Sir,—I write to register some disagreement with Daniel Downer’s article ‘Irish attitudes to slavery during the American Civil War’ (HI 21.3, May/June 2013). First, the argument is somewhat of a straw-man construction. No one has doubted that many, and probably most, Irish emigrants to the US in the Civil War era took an extreme white … Read more
Sir,—Your editorial (HI 21.2, March/April 2013) on Pope Benedict XVI was factually incorrect, unbalanced and more of an emotional rant than a reflective opinion piece. What evidence is there that Benedict XVI ‘carefully choreographed his elevation to the papacy in 2005’? Perhaps most surprising is your contention that the Normae de gravioribus delictis 2010 were … Read more
Sir,—Chartered Land, the present owners of the Carlton site, have now published their Ministerial Consent Application for proposed work to the national monument at Moore Street/Moore Lane that honours the memory and sacrifice of the men and women of 1916. The listed nature and extent of demolition in this application represents an unprecedented, unacceptable and … Read more
Sir,—Desmond Fennell’s comment about the Americanisation of Ireland called to mind Conor Cruise O’Brien’s observation, more than 40 years ago, that ‘the people of the South [the Republic] are now more Anglicised than at any time under British rule. Television is a more powerful weapon of acculturation than bayonets.’—Yours etc., MICHAEL GALLIGAN Dublin 5
Sir,—I wonder could any of your readers or subscribers assist with an enquiry? Several years ago a man from Galway told me of an experience during the Civil War when he was aged about eighteen. He was interned for a time by the Free State Army. He said that he had not done what he … Read more