Left to the wolves: Irish victims of Stalinist terror Barry McLoughlin (Irish Academic Press, hb e57.50, pb e29.50) ISBN 9780716529149, 9780716529157 One of the things the Soviets did well was compiling and preserving records, and since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the liberalisation of access to its archives some brilliant studies have appeared … Read more
A New History of Ireland VII, Ireland 1921–1984 J.R. HILL (ed.) (Oxford University Press, £125) ISBN 0198217528 In 1962 the New History of Ireland (NHI) was first conceived. Seán Lemass was taoiseach, and Harold Macmillan occupied 10 Downing Street. Like Pandit Nehru, Chairman Mao and T.W. Moody, they are gone now: only Fidel Castro, … Read more
In the early years of independence, the new Irish Free State was faced with soaring poverty rates along the western seaboard. The post-war economic slump hit the cottage industries hard and forced most of those who relied on the linen trade to make a living off the land. A wet summer in 1924 caused widespread … Read more
‘Capitalistic Vulture’? Hidden History: Figure of Hate RTÉ1, 13 November 2007 Union Films by John Gibney There are a number of ways of looking at William Martin Murphy. Traditionally he appears in Irish history as the sinister ‘boss of bosses’ who faced down Jim Larkin and the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union (ITGWU) during … Read more
Leopold H. Kerney, Irish Minister to Spain 1935–1946 Éamon Kerney (ed.) (www.leopoldhkerney.com) In this era of new technology, not all works of historical research end up in printed form. One recent publication that to date has only a website existence is by Éamon Kerney. This is a study of his father, Leopold H. Kerney, Irish … Read more