Judging from the number of alabasters that survive in Ireland today, the size of the Irish market for English alabasters would seem to have been fairly modest. Yet the alabasters that did reach Ireland certainly made their mark in one corner of County Clare. The influence of the Midlands sculptors can be seen on the … Read more
Sir,—Can any reader identify this group of IRA Volunteers or name any of them individually? The photograph was discovered in recent years and was the property of Mrs Molly McGovern (née Drum), Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan. The group was probably photographed in the 1918–21 period and are well armed. If from County Cavan, they may be … Read more
Sir,—Adrian Grant takes me to task (letters, HI 21.6, Nov./Dec. 2013) for my review of his book Irish socialist republicanism, 1909–1936 for my claim that he asserts that ‘Larkin’s arrival in Ireland and the establishment of the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union heralded the advent of a united Labour movement with a socialist republic … Read more
Sir,—The recent letter regarding James Byrne (HI 21.5, Sept./Oct. 2013) prompted me to write concerning Frank Moss, another forgotten figure of 1913, who was the ITGWU organiser for the Swords district farm labourers. Throughout September and October 1913, the Swords farm labourers, under Moss’s leadership, engaged in violent clashes with police in Swords and took … Read more
Sir,—May I make a small comment on Michael Kennedy’s article, ‘Neutrality: “the very essence of Irish independence”?’ (HI 21.5, Sept./Oct. 2013)? He mentions the Irish Naval Service defending Irish waters during World War II. This arm of the Defence Forces did not come into existence until 1946. Its forerunner was the Marine Service, an ad … Read more