Sir—In his letter, Mr Lane indicates that I wrote in the November/December 2021 issue of History Ireland: ‘Later de Valera told the Dáil “now I would like everybody clearly to understand that the plenipotentiaries went over to negotiate a Treaty, that they could differ from the Cabinet if they wanted to, and that in anything of … Read more
In relation to Daniel Mulhall’s article “Parallel Parnell” in the May/June 2010 issue, which speculates on the course Parnell’s career might have taken if he had married in 1880 and never become involved with Katherine O’Shea: Parnell seems to be the figure of modern Irish history who most strongly attracts counterfactual speculation. This is because he … Read more
Sir,—David Fitzpatrick believes there was republican sectarian intent during the War of Independence (HI Jan./Feb. 2014, letters). My summary of Fitzpatrick’s position is: ‘[V]iolence and threats against West Cork Protestants during the War of Independence have been “exaggerated”. However “certain [unnamed] republican activists, at certain [unidentified] times, made a concerted attempt to drive Protestants and … Read more
Sir,—I am writing to express my concern and shock at seeing my grandfather Einhart Kawerau listed in David O’Donoghue’s article ‘The Nazis in Irish Universities’ (HI 15.5, Sept./Oct. 2007, pp.12-13, https://staging.historyireland.com/20th-century-contemporary-history/the-nazis-in-irish-universities/ While Dr O’Donoghue limits himself to listing him as a German student in Ireland, his article implies that Einhart Kawerau participated in the German … Read more
More on this controversy A chara,—Eve Morrison in (HI 20.6, Nov./Dec. 2012) states that I am ‘misreading’ Jack Hennessy’s Bureau of Military History statement. I suggest it is she who is ‘misreading’ Hennessy. While Hennessy does not put the name ‘a false surrender’ on what he witnessed at Kilmichael on that day he actually describes … Read more