Issue 1 (Spring 1997)

Sir,—I note your recent article on ‘The American Civil War and Irish Nationalism’ (HI 4.2, Summer 1996). Your readers may be interested to know that there is a re-enactment regiment of the American Civil War currently recruiting in Ireland, North and South. The 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was the fourth regiment of the Irish … Read more

Sir,—Proinsias Ó Conluain’s article ‘Orange déjà vu?’ (HI 4.4, Winter 1996) sadly attributed the ‘déjà vu’ solely to the Orange Order. In fact the ‘déjà vu’ really relates to the whole series of events culminating in the tensions and troubles surrounding Orange parades. Sadly his article, which missed out valuable historical facts, was partial at … Read more

Sir,—As a footnote to Alan Blackstock’s interesting article on the Yeomanry (HI 4.4, Winter 1996) and their place in the tradition of Protestant defence forces, it should be noted that in some places Yeomanry corps continued to exist on an unofficial basis after their official disbandment. The Fermanagh novelist Shan Bullock (1865-1935) mentions in his … Read more

Chalice in a bog…or fool’s gold? Sir,—In ‘The Cusack Papers: new evidence on the Knock apparition’ (HI 4.4, Winter 1996), John White claims to have discovered new evidence that promises to ‘challenge our present understanding of Knock’, but he neither clarifies what is ‘new’ about his evidence nor shows how it changes our understanding. A … Read more