Sir,—Re criticism of my Irish Voices from the Great War in the lastissue (‘Letters’). I am sorry your correspondent was disappointed bythe volume. I am quite prepared to acknowledge that it is possible Iwas misled. But I draw the reader’s attention to my caveat in theintroduction where I gave fair warning that some of the … Read more
Sir,—I refer to the article by Steven G. Ellis in your Spring 1999 issue, ‘“More Irish Than the Irish Themselves”? the “Anglo-Irish” in Tudor Ireland’. For the Tudor period especially, Dr Ellis attempts to restore to the people he calls ‘the English of Ireland’ their English identity, and argues that our modern Irish identity is … Read more
Sir,—I am researching the subject of Ulster and the Great War. I am particularly interested in the part played by nationalists from all over the north who joined the 16th Irish Division and other Irish and non-Irish units. While there is a wealth of material relating to the wartime role of northern unionists and, more … Read more
Sir,—David Rutland (‘Letters’, HI Winter 1998) raises the question ofwhether there is a connection between Freemasonry and Orangeism. Thereis certainly a perception among Roman Catholics in Ireland that such aconnection exists. Both institutions, in fact, deny a connection. InThe Orange Order—An Evangelical Perspective (1993) the Grand Chaplainof the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, and the … Read more
Sir,—I found Bernard Share’s article, ‘In our own image: the brandingof industrial Ireland’ (HI Winter 1998), particularly interesting,having only recently retired from nearly fifty years in Irishretailing. The first thing I did with my new freedom was to write andpublish Retailing in Wexford 1930-1990, which covered similar ground. I believe he is too critical of … Read more