Sir,—In an interesting account of Sir Phelim O’Neill and the siege of Charlemont fort in 1650 (HI 33.5, Sept./Oct. 2025, pp 20–3), Conor Robison [and apologies for an unwanted ‘n’ in the middle of his name in the article’s byline—Ed.] claims that it was ‘Ulster’s last defiant bastion’ to hold out against the Cromwellians. In … Read more
Sir,—The illustrations in the article on ‘Robert Dudley Edwards and the Quaker undercurrent to the Irish scientific history revolution’ (HI 33.4, July/August 2025) demonstrate the utility of costume studies in underpinning historical research. The photograph of Edwards (p. 48) shows the sitter in the doctoral robes of a DLitt. of the NUI (not University of … Read more
BY DONAL FALLON A LITERARY FEUD RECALLED The recent auction of the library of the late Tommy Smith (publican and republican) from Purcell Auctioneers produced some extraordinary sales. A rare first edition of At-Swim-Two-Birds, complete with dust-jacket, fetched a record price for a work by Flann O’Brien at auction. Most were destroyed when the warehouse … Read more
By Marc O’Sullivan Vallig The O’Sullivan/Sullivan clan plans to establish a new world record for the largest gathering of people with the same surname in Castletownbere on 30 May 2026. The world record attempt will be hosted by the chieftain of the O’Sullivan clan, Kelly Sullivan from Waterloo, Iowa. It will be part of a … Read more
By Claire Graham A newspaper snippet piqued my interest—free tours of the nearly 100-year-old Ardnacrusha hydroelectric station. A niche passion, perhaps, but hydro stations and I go way back. Cathleen’s Fall, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal (see Reviews, pp 64–5), where my father worked, was my childhood stomping ground. I made a booking. Fast-forward to a warm … Read more