To face a bibliographer's task of assembling the titles and appraising the content of scholarly books on twentieth-century Ireland is to think of a number of works which one would like to see and which do not yet exist. First among these, surely, would be a History of Ireland in the twentieth century which would be social and economic as well as political, analytical as well as chronological, and include the historical background from 1914 or 1921, or perhaps even from 1891, of both the Irish republic and Northern Ireland; it would take due account of the historical inheritance as well as of the new influences and forces which belong uniquely to the twentieth century and affect all states everywhere.

The first act of the Irish parliamentary session of 1697 provided for the banishment of all catholic clergy exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction and also of all regular clergy. It was the first act since the treaty of Limerick that directly affected the practice of the catholic religion in Ireland, and it was something of a paradox that it should have coincided with the making of peace between William III and Louis XIV. In its early stages the bill seems to have been confined to the regular clergy, and there is some obscurity about its extension to bishops and other clerical dignitaries.

The barony of Iveragh in County Kerry forms the extreme western part of the peninsula that runs out from Killarney. It is mountainous and weather-beaten tourist country, facing the Atlantic and separated from the rest of Ireland by a range of mountains. The O’Connells had been the principal family in the barony for some centuries before Daniel O’Connell was born in 1775. Several branches of his family along with other Gaelic families—McCarthys, O’Mahonys, O’Sullivans and Sugrues—had survived the turmoil and confiscations of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the penal laws of the eighteenth. By the time of O’Connell’s birth these families were small landlords—frequently middlemen—whose distinction owed more to lineage and ‘following’ than to landed wealth. The one substantial landlord among them was Maurice O’Connell of Derrynane, usually known as Hunting-Cap, the head of the senior branch of the O’Connells. As a smuggler, farmer and landlord, by lending money to landlords and by thrift, he had greatly increased his inherited property so that by the beginning of the nineteenth century he could be described as a rich man. A childless widower, he adopted his nephew Daniel as his heir.

O’Connell’s conflict with the trade unions in 1837–8 is well-known, but the reasons behind it, stretching back over seven years, are not. Though Connolly and Ryan mention the O’Connell-artisan relationship, the artisan-O’Connell nexus has not been considered previously. It is more than a mere verbal inversion, for if he had his attitudes to them they too had their say about him. Until the publication of ‘Irish trade unions and politics, 1830–50’ by Rachel O’Higgins, the activities of the Irish artisans in politics was something of a dark spot. Now that it has been lightened the time may be opportune to record and examine the unquiet liaison between the artisans of Dublin and O’Connell.

The following list includes books and articles on Irish history in which the year 1969 is given in the work itself as the date of publication, together with Addenda for 1965–8. The list excludes current works of reference, parliamentary publications, writings on contemporary politics, and items in newspapers; reports of archaeological finds and literary and linguistic studies, presented without reference to their historical context; and writings of little scholarly value. Reviews or short notices of many of the items listed will be found in this journal.

The eighth annual conference of the American Committee for Irish Studies was held at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, from 30 April to 2 May 1970, with Professor Thomas Kinsella supervising local arrangements. The theme of the conference was ‘The roots of Ulster’, and representatives from both the Republic and Northern Ireland, as well as regular members of ACIS attended (Appendix A). At the business meeting Professor Harold Orel, of the University of Kansas, officially succeeded Professor John Kelleher of Harvard University as chairman of the executive committee, while Professor Maurice Harmon, of University College, Dublin, was named Irish representative on the executive committee. The business meeting also made the decision to accept the bid of the College of William and Mary for the 1971 conference. Professor J. C. Beckett, of Queen’s University, Belfast, delivered the banquet address. He spoke of the need for scholarly detachment and integrity on the part of the historian, who must strive to overcome personal bias and ‘represent times past as they were indeed’ Professor Beckett made a plea for more ‘popular history’, solidly grounded on historical evidence, but written in such a way that people will read it for pleasure as well as instruction. He explained the efforts being made in Northern Ireland to promote and popularize Irish studies, giving special emphasis to Queen’s University’s Institute of Irish Studies, which was attempting to coordinate work in the various fields of Irish studies.