The English saint has a surprisingly long history in Ireland. BY FRANCIS YOUNG Ireland’s patron saint, St Patrick, is today internationally synonymous with the country he represents—to a greater extent, perhaps, than any other nation’s patron saint. Yet in the fourteenth century the English in Ireland made an audacious (and ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to make … Read more
Why do the academic historians of Ireland seem to speak for rather than to power? BY FEARGHAL MAC BHLOSCAIDH Ireland is more than halfway through a ‘decade of centenaries’ commemorating the revolutionary period. It is also, quite apart from the COVID-19 pandemic, in the midst of a decade-long economic and political crisis (at the time … Read more
BY TONY CANAVAN Big plans for small paintings put on hold The exhibition of a collection of Irish miniature portraits, which took more than 40 years to assemble, has had to be put on hold because of COVID-19. Sold recently at auction in London for £98,000, the Comerford Collection, which consists of 121 items, has … Read more
Sir,—Dr Mary McAuliffe’s article (HI 28.2, March/April 2020) and recently published biography of Margaret Skinnider are to be warmly welcomed as throwing another light on Irish republican activists of a century ago, and especially those survivors for whom revolution did not lead to fame or political careers but who nonetheless continued their activism throughout their … Read more
Sir,—In their article examining the origins of the Public Records Office (HI 28.3, May/June 2020) Peter Crooks and Ciarán Wallace failed to mention the ‘Reports from the Commissioners appointed by His Majesty to execute the measures recommended in an address of the House of Commons respecting the Public Records of Ireland’. The Reports were printed … Read more