by Laura Friel

Buy a copy of the new `An Glor Gafa' and turn immediately to page 22. For all those Republicans out there suffering from peace process blues I have found the perfect antidote.

It had been a particularly dreary week in the offices of An Phoblacht and to be honest when I was asked for a ``quick review of Captive Voice, only 400 words,'' my already overburdened spirit fell. How wrong I was. It was pure chance when I picked up my copy and it fell open at ``Cooking up Conspiracies'' by Daithi Adams. Within reading a few lines I was roaring with laughter.

By paragraph five, tears were pouring down my face and the end of the article the whole office was in uproar. It was the funniest thing I had read in ...well I don't know how long.

When the laughter finally subsided, much to the relief of my comrades, I turned to consider more serious contributions. This summer's edition has plenty to offer, a poignant account of a visit to Armagh Jail by Roseleen Walsh, one of a group of women ex internees and political prisoners who retraced their journey to one of the North's most notorious jails on a day trip earlier this year; an in-depth analysis of Orange marches ``Civil Rights against Sectarianism'' by Paul Kavanagh; a discussion around the relevance of 1798 by Jim McVeigh; and exploration of the benefits of yoga, ``Doing a stretch in the Blocks,'' by Paddy O'Dowd as well as so much more.

Secure your copy now.





The lack of a history of women's role in Ireland's history has often been lamented, though recent works by several authors, Liz Curtis, Mary Cullen and Margaret Ward included, have attempted to right this wrong. In that vein come two new works: the very helpful Women of Ireland: A biographical dictionary and The Women of 1798; and both are to be welcomed.

In the case of 1798 while some women played the role of supporting mother, sweetheart or sister of the Unitedmen a more active role was played by many. While researching an article on the subject I found the full role women played in the revolutionary movement began to come to life in the work of edited by Dáire Keogh and Nicholas Furlong in The Women of 1798 which compliments the pioneering work of Helena Concannon, Women of `98 (1919) and Seamus O Saothraí's Mná Calma `98 (Dublin 1966) They are not exhaustive studies and in fact open up many avenues for further research and biographies. Mary McNeill's The life and Times of Mary Ann McCracken, 1770-1866: A Belfast panorama (Blackstaff 1997) Lady Louisa Connolly, 1743-1821 by Brian Fitzgerald (1950), La Belle Pamela (Lady Edward Fitzgerald) by her great-grand-daughter Lucy Ellis and Joseph Turquan (1924) still remain the only full length biographies of female participants or associates of the rising in comparison to nearly twenty of Wolfe Tone alone.

It is here that Kit and Cyril O Céirín Women of Ireland: A biographical dictionary could have been useful, but proved lacking, providing us with short biographies of participants. It is not only on 1798 that this dictionary falls short, many other characters are missing from its pages. Having said that it has a wealth of information and will surely be revised in the future as women such as: Margaret Buckley (Sinn Féin President 1937-50); Madge Clifford (Secretary to Liam Lynch); Matilda Tone, Lady Pamela Fitzgerald, Betsy Gray, Molly Weston, and Croppy Biddy of 1798; Margaret Pearse (mother of the famous brothers), and Nurse Elizabeth O'Farrell who is airbrushed out of the famous 1916 surrender photograph, get their rightful place among the women who shaped Ireland.

Like many companions they let you down occasionally and the Oxford Companion to Irish History is no exception. Like all such books, with contributions from a variety of historians and limited space per entry, there are mistakes and omissions which will hopefully be corrected for the second edition. S J Connolly has produced by far the most useful guide/companion to Irish history I've come across yet. An absolute treasure throve of historical facts which would help any student or reader of Irish history, explaining its intricacies simply, though sometimes too simply.

By Aengus O Snodaigh