Sir,—May I commend Brian Hanley for his review of John M. Regan’s Myth and the Irish state that brought to wider notice some of the current debates in modern Irish history (HI 22.5, Sept./Oct. 2014). Prof Regan is one of the most incisive minds working on modern Ireland today. The issues he raises about the … Read more
Sir,—In his response to my earlier observations D.R. O’Connor Lysaght makes some fair points (HI 22.6, Nov./Dec. 2014, Letters). It would be foolish to pretend that Germany was solely responsible for the Great War, and the argument that the Reich was striking a pre-emptive blow in 1914 is not entirely implausible. The September Programme, however, … Read more
Sir,—With the centenary of the 1916 Rising due in April 2016 and less than three months later that of the Battle of the Somme, now is the time to decide on a respectful and appropriate remembrance. Both battles were a wellspring of heroic sacrifice and both went on to have a formative influence on Ireland … Read more
Sir,—Jim Smyth’s article on Brendan Behan’s MI5 file (HI 22.6, Nov./Dec. 2014) suggests that Brendan, from an early age, had anti-Nazi and pro-USSR sentiments that he retained through the frostiest times of the Cold War. My father Paddy and his brothers Eddie and Michael Whelan were incarcerated in the Curragh internment camp with Brendan in … Read more
Sir,—In his article on John Adair (HI 22.6, Nov./Dec. 2014), Raymond Blair rightly draws attention to the value of the Maquay diaries in the British Institute of Florence. But do they really support the thesis that William Maquay was actually Adair’s child? In October 1843, when Adair arrived in Florence, aged 20, to stay with … Read more