Sir,—I wish to comment on Joseph E.A. Connell Jr’s ‘Force-feeding of prisoners and hunger strikes’ (HI 26.1, Jan./Feb. 2018). Of course, the article represents another fine contribution from Dr Connell, which now collectively represents an impressive body of work during this decade of centennials. It is stated in the article: ‘What is certain is that … Read more
By Joe Culley Breasal Ó Caollaí, Niall O’Hagan and Ken Finlay (eds), The last voyage of the Leinster: remembering the Dún Laoghaire and Holyhead mailboat (Leinster Centenary Committee, €15 hb, 48pp, ISBN 9781909751767). Patrick F. O’Donovan, Stanley’s letter: the national school system and inspectors in Ireland 1831–1922 (Galway Education Centre, €38 hb, 358pp, ISBN 9781999754006). … Read more
Sir,—In 2016, Sir Bob Geldof stated that the men of 1916 were the same as Muslim Jihadis. At about the same time, an eminent, well-respected British journalist reinforced this view. While still getting over the shock of that insight, I was doubly shocked to read Aidan Beatty’s (HI 26.1, Jan./Feb. 2018) revelation that Gaelgeoirí in … Read more
Sir,—I appreciate History Ireland’s accolade in choosing the collected writings of Hanna Sheehy Skeffington as the ‘Big Book’ review for January/February 2018 (HI 26.1). I was very glad to see that the reviewer, Patrick Maume, begins by describing this as a ‘valuable book … a picture of an activist in her own words’. But to … Read more
By Bernadette Cunningham Who is the most famous person in Irish history? We all know about ‘lies, damned lies and statistics’, so how can we compare the renown of various historical personalities from the Irish past? What biases will affect any attempt to rank historical personalities by reputation or popularity? What if a database designed … Read more