Catholic ‘Hessians’?

‘At Tubberneering and Ballyellis Full many a Hessian lay in his gore’ By Nicholas Dunne-Lynch The ballad Boolevogue, which celebrates the heroism of the Wexford rebels during the rebellion of 1798, and in particular the campaign of Fr John Murphy from 26 May to 26 June, contains the lines quoted above. Written by Patrick Joseph … Read more

Monstrum horrendum

A newly discovered poem from County Offaly in the 1641 Rebellion. By Jane Maxwell Among a small cache of papers relating to the Digby family of Warwickshire, now in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, is a previously unknown seventeenth-century poem about an event that took place in the Irish midlands during the 1641 Rebellion. … Read more

Was the War of Independence necessary?

Sir—Might I respond to Rayner Lysaght’s latest critique (HI 27.4, May/June 2019, Letters) of my article ‘Was the War of Independence necessary?’ (HI 27.1, Jan./Feb. 2019)? As it was a ‘What if?’ article about alternative strategies for securing independence, it achieved its objective in prompting some debate. One hardy perennial to emerge was the old … Read more