Seán Duffy Gill and Macmillan £24.99 ISBN 9780717157785 Forty-two years have passed since Gill and Macmillan, in what became a celebrated series of history books, enabled Donnchadh Ó Corráin to write that Clontarf ‘was not a struggle between the Irish and the Norse for the sovereignty of Ireland’ but rather a revolt of the Leinstermen … Read more
A supplement to the Dictionary of Scandinavian words in the languages of Britain and Ireland (Four Courts Press, ?29.95 hb, 128pp, ISBN 9781846823800). Princes, prelates and poets in medieval Ireland: essays in honour of Katharine Simms (Four Courts Press, ?55 hb, 600pp, ISBN 9781846822803). The friars in Ireland, 1224–1540 Four Courts Press, ?29.95 pb, 432pp, … Read more
Clontarf 1014: Brian Boru and the battle for Dublin National Museum of Ireland Kildare Street, Dublin 2 www.museum.ie By Tony Canavan This major exhibition to mark the millennium of the Battle of Clontarf features artefacts, information panels, artist’s representations of the warriors involved, maps and so on. The artefacts and illustrations are divided thematically. A … Read more
Cluain Tarbh Abú Media, TG4, Good Friday (18 April) 2014 There is an unfortunate moment in the BBC/RTÉ co-production The story of Ireland (reviewed here in May/June 2011) when presenter Fergal Keane, whilst discussing Brian Boru, walks into Dublin City Hall, where ‘the legend of Brian is commemorated on the dome’. Keane stood, stared and … Read more