THEO FARRELL Bodley Head £25 ISBN 9781847923462 Reviewed by Lar Joye A story is told of a British Army regimental commander in the early 2000s meeting a group of Afghan elders who gave out to him for burning down their local market-place. Returning to his HQ, he demanded to know what idiot had burnt down … Read more
PAUL O’BRIEN Collins Press €19.99 ISBN 9781848893061 Reviewed by Eamonn T. Gardiner Although painting a vivid picture for readers,Paul O’Brien’s latest offering falls short of thepromised ‘balanced examination’ promised. With this work O’Brien, who has previously established himself as an authority on military strategies during the Anglo-Irish War, dips his toe into the morenuanced world … Read more
MATTHEW STOUT Wordwell Books €35 ISBN 9781999790905 Reviewed by Pat Wallace So much progress has been made on so many levels by so many specialists over the past half-century that there is now an ocean of data available on Ireland’s first historical millennium. Material culture is only part of this ocean and its specialities range … Read more
O’Connell Street, Dublin By Sarah Buckley The General Post Office (GPO) in O’Connell Street, Dublin, one of Ireland’s most symbolic buildings, has witnessed two centuries of Irish history. The foundation stone of the neo-Classical building was laid by Lord Charles Whitworth (1752–1825), lord lieutenant of Ireland, on 12 August 1814 and the building opened for … Read more
The Ormond–St Leger feud. By Alan Bryson By spring 1544 the lord deputy of Ireland, Sir Anthony St Leger, faced growing criticism of his policies, especially among supporters of the most powerful Irish nobleman, James Butler, ninth earl of Ormond. He still had the backing of King Henry VIII, however, and, in comparison with the … Read more