Sir,—In his review of Precipice by Robert Harris (HI 33.4, July/Aug. 2025), Colum Kenny is like many other historians and commentators who seem to have a strange need to blame Britain for the First World War and its ‘senseless’ loss of life. However, the Central Powers, by their aggression, started the war—Harris is quite clear … Read more
Sir,—I enjoyed Ivan Gibbons’s and Cormac Moore’s balanced discussion of the events surrounding the Boundary Commission (HI 33.6, Nov./Dec. 2025, pp 36–42) but would like to draw attention to an overlooked set of negotiations, occurring simultaneously, which were arguably more important. These were much more successful and led to the Irish Free State achieving de … Read more
Sir,—Sylvie Kleinman’s review of Lyric FM’s Recalling the Layers (HI 33.5, Sept./Oct. 2025) piqued my interest. I was curious to hear how the subject of the Marshalsea debtors’ prison was presented by Patricia Barker against the recent exhibition at the Irish Architectural Archive (IAA), A Form of Justice: The Four Courts Marshalsea, Dublin (4 June–26 … Read more
Sir,—Two (very) small corrections in your last issue (HI 33.6, Nov./Dec. 2025). Re Donal Fallon’s very fine item (p. 11), John Devoy’s chair was really not ‘return[ed]’ to Kildare this year. This was its first journey there, having been bought in New York City around 1920. Re Angeline O’Neill’s equally fine and longer piece (pp … Read more
Sir,—Brian Hanley has written a lively review of David McCullagh’s recent two-part, point-of-view RTÉ documentary, Dev: Rise and Rule (HI 33.6, Nov./Dec. 2025). In it he gives Dev his due, but it left me no wiser as to what David was getting at in the opening section of the first programme, widely promoted in advance … Read more