When Pope John Paul II made his famous visit to Ireland in 1979, it must have looked to the outside world as if the words ‘Irish’ and ‘Catholic’ still belonged easily together, as they had for centuries. Semper fidelis was the phrase confidently pronounced by the pope just before he departed from Shannon airport. As … Read more
Sir—I refer to Brian Hanley’s review of Robert A. Stradling’s book onIrish involvement in the Spanish Civil War (HI Winter 1999). In thatbook there is reference to a ‘Michael Cadell’, a member of the SpanishForeign Legion, who became a Catholic when he joined O’Duffy’s brigade.That man was actually Maurice Cadell, from a well-off Scottish family.He … Read more
Sir,—I read Marie Bourke’s article (‘Charles Lambe and the West ofIreland’, HI Spring 2000) with great interest and learned much from it.However, I was, and remain, puzzled about the dramatic painting byLambe on the front cover, Dancing at a Northern Crossroads. My originaldoubts arose from the word ‘northern’. Marie Bourke ties in the workwith Connemara … Read more
Sir,—I am searching for historical or social information about howsingle pregnant girls were helped in giving birth in Dublin around thebeginning of the twentieth century. In particular I have evidence of anumber of births in 1916 at 590 North Circular Road. The person givenas present at the births was a Frances Moran. Dr Barnado’s, ChristChurch … Read more
Sir,—I refer to the article ‘A German planter in the Midlands’, byBrendan Ryan (HI Spring 2000). Readers might be interested in thefollowing items for further reading: R. Loeber, ‘Civilization throughplantation: the projects of Mathew de Renzi’, in H. Murtagh (ed.),Irish Midland Studies (1980); B. Mac Cuarta, ‘A planter’s interactionwith Gaelic culture: Sir Matthew De Renzy’, … Read more