The Churchills in Ireland, 1660–1965: Connections and Controversies

Description

Since the seventeenth century, the Churchill family, one of Britain’s greatest political and military dynasties, has had an enormous impact on the history of Ireland. This book seeks to trace this relationship in a series of essays examining some of the connections and controversies. It explores the key figures in the Churchill family who influenced Irish history, including the first Sir Winston Churchill, the First Duke of Marlborough, Lord Randolph Churchill and Winston Churchill himself. Two important Irish Churchillians, Bourke Cockran and Brendan Bracken, were influential figures in their own right in America and Britain respectively, and are part of this collection.

Taken together, the essays in this volume provide a fascinating assessment of one British family’s important influence on the course of Irish history.

Table of Contents

Part I The Early Churchills and Ireland:

1. Sir Winston Churchill and Restoration Ireland Coleman Dennehy, NUI Maynooth
2. “Marlborough’s first independent command”: John Churchill’s military campaign in Ireland, 1690 John Cronin
3. Writing and fighting the Churchills: strange and surprising connections between the Churchills, the Hookes and Ireland Thomas Byrne

Part II The Later Churchills and Ireland

4. Lord Randolph Churchill’s Irish Apprenticeship and its aftermath Catherine Shannon
5. Lord Randolph’s road to and from the Orange card Catherine Shannon
6. Winston Churchill and Ireland: a brief historical overview Robert McNamara
7. Churchill & Ulster Unionists: 1918-1925 Kevin Matthews, George Mason University
8. Winston Churchill and Eamon De Valera: A Thirty Year “Relationship” David Freeman, California State University at Fullerton

Part III Irish Churchillians
9. The Untold Story of Young Winston and his Irish-American Mentor, Bourke Cockran Michael McMenamin
10. ‘Dear Brendan’ Winston Churchill and Brendan Bracken Charles Lysaght

About the Editor

Robert McNamara is a Lecturer in International History at the University of Ulster.