Sir,—I note your recent article on ‘The American Civil War and IrishNationalism’ (HI 4.2, Summer 1996). Your readers may be interested toknow that there is a re-enactment regiment of the American Civil Warcurrently recruiting in Ireland, North and South. The 28thMassachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was the fourth regiment ofthe Irish Brigade which fought on the … Read more
Sir,—Proinsias Ó Conluain’s article ‘Orange déjà vu?’ (HI 4.4, Winter1996) sadly attributed the ‘déjà vu’ solely to the Orange Order. Infact the ‘déjà vu’ really relates to the whole series of eventsculminating in the tensions and troubles surrounding Orange parades.Sadly his article, which missed out valuable historical facts, waspartial at best and fails to take … Read more
Sir,—As a footnote to Alan Blackstock’s interesting article on theYeomanry (HI 4.4, Winter 1996) and their place in the tradition ofProtestant defence forces, it should be noted that in some placesYeomanry corps continued to exist on an unofficial basis after theirofficial disbandment. The Fermanagh novelist Shan Bullock (1865-1935)mentions in his autobiography After Sixty Years that … Read more
Sir,—In ‘The Cusack Papers: new evidence on the Knock apparition’ (HI 4.4, Winter 1996), John White claims to have discovered new evidence that promises to ‘challenge our present understanding of Knock’, but he neither clarifies what is ‘new’ about his evidence nor shows how it changes our understanding. A researcher discovering significant original materials on … Read more