First published in 1926, these volumes cover judges in Ireland during the seven centuries when the authority of England was absolute in their appointment, and show the manner of men that were raised to the benches of the Irish superior courts, the influences which accounted for their selection, the circumstances in which their duties were discharged, and the estimation in which their services were held.

Along with his close comrades Michael Collins and Eamon de Valera, Harry Boland (1887-1922) was probably the most influential Irish revolutionary between 1917 and 1922. His sway extended to almost every aspect of republican activity. Already prominent as a hurler before 1916, he was convicted and imprisoned after an energetic Easter Week. He subsequently became Honorary Secretary of Sinn Fein, T.D. for South Roscommon in the First Dail, President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood's Supreme Council, and a republican envoy in the United States between May 1919 and December 1921. He broke with Collins over the Treaty, but became the chief intermediary between the factions. Early in the Civil War, however, he was killed by National army officers in the Grand Hotel, Skerries. Boland's influence was the product of charm, gregariousness, wit, and ruthlessness. After his rebel father's early death, Boland's mother raised him in a spirit of intransigent hostility to Britain. Yet he was also stylish, cosmopolitan, and humane. His celebrated contest with Collins for the love of Kitty Kiernan is perhaps the most intriguing of all Irish political romances. Attractive yet elusive, his personality helped shape the Irish revolution. David Fitzpatrick's biography draws upon documents in Irish, British, and American archives, including his American diaries and thousands of letters to, from, and about Boland. Extensive use has been made of family papers and de Valera's vast archive on the Irish campaign in America. These and other recently released documents illuminate the inner workings of Irish republicanism, and the critical importance of brotherhood in the revolution. As an old-fashioned republican and advocate of 'physical force', Boland is still venerated as a martyr by revolutionary republicans. Yet, in his conduct, he practised the ambiguities associated with Sinn Fein in today's Northern Ireland. Doctrine was subordinated to the twin quests for republican unity and political supremacy, entailing reiterated compromise, systematic duplicity, and mastery of propagandist techniques. If his outlook seems archaic, his practice was astonishingly modern. Harry Boland was a forerunner for Adams and McGuinness. -- Publisher description.

A history of the British Army’s experience at the Battle of the Somme in France during World War I. After an immense but useless bombardment, at 7:30 AM on July 1, 1916, the British Army went over the top and attacked the German trenches. It was the first day of the battle of the Somme, and on that day, the British suffered nearly 60,000 casualties, two for every yard of their front. With more than fifty times the daily losses at El Alamein and fifteen times the British casualties on D-day, July 1, 1916, was the blackest day in the history of the British Army. But, more than that, as Lloyd George recognized, it was a watershed in the history of the First World War. The Army that attacked on that day was the volunteer Army that had answered Kitchener’s call. It had gone into action confident of a decisive victory. But by sunset on the first day on the Somme, no one could any longer think of a war that might be won. Martin Middlebrook’s research has covered not just official and regimental histories and tours of the battlefields, but interviews with hundreds of survivors, both British and German. As to the action itself, he conveys the overall strategic view and the terrifying reality that it was for front-line soldiers. Praise for The First Day on the Somme “The soldiers receive the best service a historian can provide: their story is told in their own words.” —The Guardian (UK)

An in-depth study of the most significant Irish clergyman in the history of the state For three decades, 1940-72, as Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland, John Charles McQuaid imposed his iron will on Irish politicians and instilled fear among his clergy and laity. No other churchman amassed the religious, political and social power which he exercised with unscrupulous severity. An admirer of the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover, Archbishop McQuaid built up a vigilante system that spied on politicians and priests, workers and students, doctors and lawyers, nuns and nurses, soldiers and trade unionists. There was no room for dissent when John Charles spoke in the name of Jesus Christ. This power was used to build up a Catholic-dominated state in which Protestants, Jews and feminists were not welcome.

Dundrum is in the Taney Parish.