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
Sir,—With reference to Karl Bottigheimer and Ute Lotz-Heumann’sarticle, ‘Ireland and the European Reformation’ (HI Winter 1998), Ibelieve that Ireland is still unique in resisting the ProtestantReformation in Northern Europe. The people of the two states of Germanyquoted, although they resisted conversion from Lutheranism toCalvinism, had not previously resisted conversion to Lutheranism,therefore the similarity between these … Read more
Sir,—Re Ian McCabe’s article ‘Leaving the Commonwealth’ in the lastissue (HI Winter 1998). In the course of an interview, an esteemedretired practitioner of diplomacy insisted that the Republic of Irelandnever, in so many words, procedurally left the Commonwealth. She waslocked out by a peppery Britain still trailing clouds of empiregrandeur. It took a lot of … Read more