Most of us have heard, at one time or another, that Ireland was peopled in remote times by settlers from Spain. These settlers, the ancestors of the Irish people of today, are often referred to as ‘Milesians’. Archaeologists have found no convincing evidence for any such ancient migration, but the persistence of the idea that … Read more
Sir,—Iam researching the history of commercial brewing in the North-West ofIreland. In particular I am looking for information on Martin JosephMadden Jr, a native of Sligo who resided in Bray, County Wicklow, fromthe 1880s onwards, and Kathleen V. Davys, another native of Sligo whoresided in Bangor, County Down, up to the 1920s. Martin JosephMadden Jr, … Read more
Sir,—Weare developing a film documentary about the life and work of the greatIrish Victorian sculptor John Henry Foley. Dubliners will be familiarwith his statues of Edmund Burke, Oliver Goldsmith and Henry Grattan atthe front of Trinity College. According to the critic Brian Fallon, ‘Noart works are woven more densely and intimately into the fabric ofnational … Read more
Sir,—Myattention was drawn to the photograph on page five of the last issue(HI vol.9, no.1, Spring 2001), which accompanied the short article ‘TheBritish Offer to End Partition, June 1940’. As noted in the caption, itwas one of three tanks used by the defence forces during the Emergency. The vehicle is a Swedish-built Landsverk L-60 light … Read more
Sir,—I found it odd that you did not aska historian to review The Catholics of Ulster by Marianne Elliott whois not only a noted historian but one of History Ireland’s patrons. Others better qualified or at least possessing ‘the nobility of theGaelic mind’ (to use just one of Mons. Murray’s unhistorical phrases)will, no doubt take … Read more