Sir,—It was with interest that I read Gavin Foster’s article about the IRA campaign against cinema during the Civil War (HI 25.2, March/April 2017). As someone who has been researching the role of newsreels and press photographers during the 1912–23 period, I am pleased to see some attention being paid to the often-forgotten role played … Read more
Sir,—Arthur Griffith was in many ways an estimable human being. In five sixths of a page, Colum Kenny has shown this (HI 25.2, March/April 2017). Unfortunately for him, very little of his argument is relevant to this writer’s proposition, which is that Griffith’s ‘single-minded nationalism’ was quite inadequate for the problems of Ireland in his … Read more
Sir,—Your editorial in the last issue (HI 25.2, March/April 2017) touched on the new US Trump administration’s 90-day ban on people from seven (later reduced to six) Muslim-majority countries and on Ireland’s policy on asylum-seekers who wait years for a decision to remain or be deported. The US did relax the rules of the ban … Read more
Sir,—In his article ‘Edmund Dwyer Gray Jr in Tasmania’ (HI 25.2, March/April 2017), Felix M. Larkin made reference to his father, also Edmund Dwyer Gray, who was a very interesting man in his own right. Edmund Dwyer Gray was the son of Sir John Gray, proprietor of the Freeman’s Journal and MP for Kilkenny City. … Read more
Hedge schools Sir,—Tony Lyons (HI 24.6, Nov./Dec. 2016) provided us with a comprehensive account of hedge schools. The existence of these schools was in breach of the penal laws, which prohibited Catholic involvement in educational provision. As a result, they tended to be established in remote locations where they would not come to official attention. … Read more