INLA and the Brighton Bombing
Yesterday (12 October 2009) was a historic occasion. The decision by the INLA to declare their war over and to renounced violence is long overdue but no less welcome for that. It was good too that it coincided with the visit of Hilary Clinton to Ireland (north & south), reaffirming US commitment to the peace process.
Another reason it is welcome is that it comes one day before the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Brighton bombing in 1984 when the IRA attempted to kill British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.
Although that bombing didn't kill the Prime Minister, it did kill five others. The BBC has a number of remarkable features on the events including this photo-gallery with eyewitness and first hand accounts of the events of that night.
It is hard to imaging how much further along the road towards peace the conflict in Northern Ireland has come since those very dark days. Despite our dark and gloomy recession news them we have some things to be grateful for.
Eoin
A new crop of history books
I love this time of year. It is when a slew of good history reads are released, time for the Christmas market. This week saw the national and local press begin reviewing the first of them.
Des Kenny's Biblio column in the Galway Advertiser hits on one of my favourite topics by discussing G&M's new book on the Spanish Armada: The Downfall of the Spanish Armada in Ireland by Ken Douglas. It is a fascinating topic and one that clearly piqued his interest:
this book is well worth reading, not only because it debunks the mythology that surrounds the Spanish Armada and gives an intriguing insight into the life of 16th century Ireland, but also because it underlines the tragedy and sordid futility of war, no matter when, why, or how it is waged.
There is a decent review for The lost revolution: The story of the official ira and the workers' party brian Hanley & Scott Millar in the Saturday Independent: