Sir,—I have been commissioned to produce a record of the forced landings and crashes of belligerent aircraft—British, German and American—which occurred in neutral Ireland during World War II. Official records show 163 incidents, but there appears to have been over 200, including those aircraft which fell into territorial waters.I am anxious to obtain personal reminiscences … Read more
Sir,—In 1938 a book was published entitled Wolfe Tone and the United Irishmen—for or against Christ?, under the name of Leo McCabe. Sometime before that another book by the same author was published that dealt with Henry VIII and the English Reformation. The theme of the 1938 book was that Irish separatism from the time … Read more
Sir,—Your Winter 1997 issue, the first I have read, made fascinating reading and reminded me how involved in Irish history my own family has been. It is sixty years since my parents and my brothers and sisters came to England in January 1938, after my father’s farm failed, but it is only in my recent … Read more
Sir,—General Lopez de Santa Anna, who so admired the St Patrick’s Battalion, did not forget the martial qualities of the Irish soldier. In 1866 while living in exile in New York he offered his support to the Mexican Republic in its fight against the French. This was rejected but on 29 September 1866 the New … Read more
Sir,—The series of sometimes romanticised narratives about our Gaelic past that have been passed down to us are fun to read. The bardic accounts of raids and battles, the many chronicles of fratricidal fights for power, the stories of passionate love affairs of kings and princesses from rival clans, are timeless and colourful narratives that … Read more