The map of the siege of Castle Maine was probably drawn shortly after the victory of Munster president Sir John Perrot in August 1572, since it was entered into the state papers in December of that year. The map acknowledges the attacking crown force through a depiction of their camps, their ordnance, their journey across … Read more
Sir,—Readers of my Massacre in West Cork (reviewed in HI 22.3, May/June 2014) might be interested in a very important Freedom of Information Tribunal which will take place in London on 17 June 2015. In 2013, while I was researching Massacre in West Cork, I requested a file in the National Archives in London identifying … Read more
Sir,—The suggestion of a joint remembrance of the 1916 Rising and the Battle of the Somme would definitely be inappropriate, if not divisive. Gerry McAllister’s statement in his letter (HI 23.2, March/April 2015) that the Battle of the Somme was fought as part of an imperial war may be correct, but it is still being … Read more
Sir,—In the course of last issue’s Platform piece (‘Who fears to speak of 1916?’, HI 23.2, March/April 2015) Brian Hanley mentions the 50th anniversary in 1966. Things were not quite as peaceful as they seemed to the general public then. I was privileged to march in the Easter Sunday parade in Dublin as acting adjutant … Read more
Sir,—So Myles Dungan (Book reviews, HI 23.2, March/April 2015) could only name one Irishman, John Redmond, who had fought in the First World War? I grew up in a working-class area of Dublin in the ’60s/’70s, where most, if not all, youngsters were educated to primary and/or Intermediate Cert level only. I was lucky enough … Read more