A response to Ian S. Wood’s ‘Brian Nelson—the rise and fall of a double agent’ (HI 31.2, March/April 2023). By Margaret Urwin If Ian S. Wood wished to portray the extent of collusion as a figment of Irish republican imaginations he chose the wrong example. Brian Nelson’s story illustrates Britain’s secret war in Northern Ireland, … Read more
By James Quinn When in 1950 and 1952 the Yugoslav FA offered to bring its highly rated football team to Dublin, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) showed an uncharacteristic reluctance to accept. Normally the FAI took up such invitations with alacrity. International matches were its main source of income and prestige and were hard … Read more
By Brian Hopkins and Peter McClintock On the cusp of 1940, Ireland was suffering from economic hardship, especially evident in the tenements of the urban poor in Dublin and Cork. Moreover, living in overcrowded conditions, the poor were confronted by a return of such spectres of the 1840s as typhus and malnutrition. Having engaged in … Read more
By Mark McLaughlin The ending of the Irish Civil War with the order to ‘dump arms’ in May 1923 allowed the new National Army of the Irish Free State to concentrate on the creation of a professional army capable of serving the needs of the new state. An army of 7,000 had expanded during the … Read more
By Peadar Slattery Ask anyone in Ireland to recall an event in 1912 and they may well mention the sinking of the White Star liner Titanic on 14–15 April, or a person might point to the signing of the Solemn League and Covenant by unionists to resist Home Rule. Less well known is an episode … Read more