Ancient Britons

Sir,—I am researching the Ancient Britons fencible cavalry’s activitiesin Ireland before, during and after the 1798 Rebellion. Beingparticularly interested in the mythic as well as factual aspects oftheir involvement in 1790s Ireland, I wish to explore just why twocenturies on they still epitomise unchecked brutality and atrocity.That this body of North Welsh cavalry went from … Read more

The Geoghegan Brothers

Sir,—Re criticism of my Irish Voices from the Great War in the lastissue (‘Letters’). I am sorry your correspondent was disappointed bythe volume. I am quite prepared to acknowledge that it is possible Iwas misled. But I draw the reader’s attention to my caveat in theintroduction where I gave fair warning that some of the … Read more

More Irish Than the Irish Themselves?

Sir,—I refer to the article by Steven G. Ellis in your Spring 1999 issue, ‘“More Irish Than the Irish Themselves”? the “Anglo-Irish” in Tudor Ireland’. For the Tudor period especially, Dr Ellis attempts to restore to the people he calls ‘the English of Ireland’ their English identity, and argues that our modern Irish identity is … Read more

Pathways to Ulster’s Past: Sources and Resources for Local Studies Peter Collins (Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s, £6.50) ISBN 0853896933

If you are exploring the labyrinthine pathways to Ulster’s past, you are likely to welcome the appearance of this guide by Peter Collins. It is a great boon to have the mysteries of the myriad records, and those of the archives, museums and libraries in which they repose, so comprehensively elucidated within the covers of … Read more

Jews in Twentieth-Century Ireland: Refugees, Anti-Semitism & the Holocaust, Dermot Keogh. (Cork University Press, £15.99) ISBN 1859181503 Hitler’s Irish Voices: The Story of German Radio’s Wartime Irish Service David O’Donoghue (Beyond the Pale

Ireland’s relationship with the Third Reich is the common underlying theme for these engaging and well-  written books. Both illuminate issues glossed over by Carole J. Carter, J.P. Duggan, Robert Fisk and Enno Stephan. They have painstakingly reflected on and researched their respective topics using recently released Irish official records to expand the boundaries of … Read more