Come all ye Martins

Sir,—I have been researching the history of the Martin/Martyn family of Galway, Ireland for over two years now, detailing as much as is possible of our nine-hundred year history. The real surprise of my work was that after some very detailed and painstaking research—never again!—I have been able to draw up/revise/up-date over a dozen family … Read more

Ireland and the Olympic Games

Sir,—I found it curious that Patrick O’Sullivan’s article ‘Ireland and the Olympic Games’ in HI Spring 1998 should fail to mention John Mary Pius Boland (1870-1958). Boland, a Dubliner, won two Olympic gold medals for tennis in the 1896 games in Athens, becoming the first Irishman to win an Olympic honour.—Yours etc., KEVIN O’SULLIVANLetterkennyCo. Donegal … Read more

Local History Publications on 1798

The Wexford Insurgents of ‘98 and their March into Meath, Eamon Doyle (Duffrey Press, £5.99). Leitrim and the Croppies 1776-1804, Gerard Mac Atasney (Carrick-on-Shannon and District Historical Society). The Tellicherry Five, Kieran Sheedy (RTE and The Woodfield Press, £9.99). All that Delirium of the Brave: Kildare in 1798, Mario Corrigan (Kildare County Council, £6). The … Read more

Interpreting the 1790s

The Year of Liberty: a history of the great Irish rebellion of 1798, Thomas Pakenham (Weidenfeld, 1969 & 1997, £14.99, ISBN: 0297823868).Partners in Revolution: the United Irishmen and France, Marianne Elliott (Yale University Press, 1982 & 1998, £14.50, ISBN: 0300043023). Rebellion in Kildare, 1798-1803, Liam Chambers (Four Courts Press, 1998, pb £9.95, ISBN: 1851823638, hb … Read more