The yearly declassification of secret government papers under the "30 year rule" continues to produce interesting material – especially as far as Northern Irish history is concerned, as 30 years ago means 1987, right in the middle of The Troubles.…
Tag: IRA
State papers: Dublin’s fear of civil war and Provos bankrolled by Libya’s Colonel Gaddafi:
from BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
There wasn’t as much coverage of the revelations contained in declassified government papers this year as there was last year – surprising as they deal with the period of the Anglo-Irish Agreement. There are a few little gems nonetheless, such…
Book Review: Fatal Path by Ronan Fanning
This book was published last year to much acclaim. There were lots of complimentary reviews, and I’m not going to dissent here from the majority view. Ronan Fanning is Professor Emeritus of Modern History at University College Dublin and this…
1984: UK Government considered repartition of Northern Ireland
Every January the British National Archives prompt a flurry of historical recollections and reflections when they release a tranche of previoulsy confidential government documents under the “thirty-year rule”. This year, 1984 comes under the spotlight, a year in which the…
The various IRAs
(Note: I have tried to keep this account as factual as possible and my own views out of it, so any political slant and/or bias people read into it is as much a product of their minds as my words!)…
Book Review: The Outrages
The Outrages 1920-1922: IRA & Ulster Special Constabulary Pearse Lawlor MERCIER PRESS Cork According to the publishers: The Outrages gives an account of the major incidents, now slipping from local memory, as the War of Independence escalated from attacks on…
Film: The Enigma of Frank Ryan
Reading a review of this film in Scoláire Staire – History Scholar Magazine (http://scolairestaire.com/index.php) I was brought up short by this picture: “Wait a minute – I recognise that red brick facade!” And yes, indeed, it’s the Whitla Hall at Queen’s…
WANTED: Police writer with excellent descriptive skills
While researching pictures for the ebook Irish History Compressed I was very happy to find on Wikimedia Commons this “WANTED” poster printed by the British authorities during the Irish War of Independence. Dan Breen was one member of the group…
Reposted: Michael Collins: a short biography
Michael Collins was born in County Cork on 16 October 1890, and worked as a young man for several years in London, where he joined the secret society, the Irish Republican Brotherhood. After returning to Ireland in 1915 he fought…
Reposted: Éamon de Valera: a short biography
Éamon De Valera was born 14 October 1882 in New York to a Cuban father and an Irish mother, but returned to live with relatives in Bruree, County Limerick, as a small child. He studied mathematics and worked as a…