[brainboru1104]

Originally Posted by Bellejelles

The winners write history

Tell that to Carthage.

[brainboru1104]

Originally Posted by odyssey06

He wasnt under pressure on tariffs or railroads or banks or taxes ... he was under pressure because the South seceded on the election on Northern votes alone of a President committed to contain slavery. Not for any other political issue on which there were regional disagreements.

Slavery was the wedge between the North and South. No slavery in the South, no anti-slavery in the North... no war.
It was the ultimate cause of the war not a pretext or fig leaf for it.

Ok, you're just debating with yourself here. My point has already been made.

[odyssey06]

Originally Posted by Bellejelles

The winners write history

Historians write history.
They are not always from the winning side.

[Mr.Nice Guy]

Tim Pat Coogan's quote at the end of the Michael Collins movie where de Valera supposedly said Collins' greatness would be recorded at his expense. A quote that has been queried by numerous historians. This was Coogan's response to Mansergh about it:

The statement involving Joe McGrath that Dr Mansergh challenges was de Valera's rejection in 1966, of a suggestion by McGrath that he become a patron of a Michael Collins Foundation, which would provide deserving students with an education. The foundation suggestion originated from Johnny Collins, Michael's brother, who felt that scholarships would be a more fitting tribute to his brother's memory than McGrath's initial proposal, which had been to erect, at his own expense, a memorial to Collins at Sam's Cross in west Cork.

Johnny's son, the late Michael Collins, a prominent businessman and a chartered accountant, was involved in and supportive of the foundation, as were Michael's brothers, the late Col Pat Collins and Liam Collins of Clonakilty, one of Cork's leading solicitors, also deceased. I knew all three, Michael Collins since our days together in Blackrock, and I would rate them as being among the most honourable men I have ever encountered.

Michael first, and subsequently the other two, told me that when Joe McGrath, who was dying at the time, put the foundation proposal to de Valera he replied: "I can't see my way to becoming patron of the Michael Collins Foundation. It's my considered opinion that in the fullness of time, history will record the greatness of Collins and it will be recorded at my expense". McGrath formally conveyed this response to Michael Collins in his capacity as an administrator of the foundation fund.

Dr Mansergh now asks how can we be sure that those words are exact? If he had raised that question 15 years ago when my book was first published, I can assure him the Collins brothers would have given him his answer.

Hearsay that has come to be taken as fact. The Michael Collins movie in general can be filed under historically inaccurate tosh. De Valera didn't want Collins killed and argued against that action being taken. RTE's John Creedon did a good documentary on it a few years back.

[riffmongous]

Mod: deleted a few non-history posts.

I know this is a soft thread, but if people want to really discuss a point then it's time to start adding sources.

[magicbastarder]

Originally Posted by mickuhaha

Well most of Munster was destroyed using scorched earth tactics by the British. I would guess I am more right than wrong.

from 'reading the irish landscape' by mitchell and ryan:

[storker]

Originally Posted by odyssey06

It wasnt fought to end slavery but it was fought to preserve the Union / Federal government which under Republicans was pledged to contain slavery (was that not a noble goal?) ... which the South viewed as ultimately leading to slaverys eventual extinction.
It was a struggle about whether the power of the Federal government would be deployed to protect and spread slavery or to contain and eventually extinguish it.

The South could see what was coming down the tracks. They couched it in terms of "States' Rights", as in the right not to be forced to accept the rules of everyone else in "the club", but it was plain which rule they were worried about.

The Emancipation Proclamation only happened in 1863, when the Civil War was already well under way.

[magicbastarder]

Originally Posted by brainboru1104

No, you're confusing two posters as one.

cheers, my mistake!

[Samsonsmasher]

That De Valera was spared execution after 1916 because he was an American.

In fact it was because De Valera and his men were marched to a separate British barracks than the GPO garrison and the other garrisons.
General Maxwell planned to court martial and shoot not just the ringleaders but scores more and indeed a mass grave was dug. The executions went painfully slowly with the result that while most of the public initially supported the defeat of the rebels and were baying for blood it allowed time for tempers to cool and opinion to swing toward mercy while details of the heroism of the rebels began to be more widely known. Maxwell went from being a British hero for crushing a treasonous rabble to a brute killing heroic Gaels.
Embarassed the British government called off the executions.
In any case Maxwell is said to have asked who De Valera was and he was dismissed as unimportant. A mere maths teacher.
Spared the glorious fate of Pearse Clarke McDonagh et al De Valera assumed the leadership of the republican prisoners and the rest is history.

[mikemac2]

Patrick Pearse
P H Pearse
Pádraig Mac Piarais

All used by the man himself but being serious about his languages he never ever mixed them

Somewhere along the way Pádraig Pearse became the accepted version though he never used it

I remember a tour guide from Kilmainham Jail being interviewed on the radio and he got blasted by texters for saying Patrick as if it was too anglicised

[velo.2010]

Somewhat trivial compared to the above, but I remember Michael Caine telling the story (and me completely believing it at the the time)of how Mary, Queen of Scots was responsible for the origin of the word marmalade while appearing on Michael Parkinson's chatshow.

The story goes that when Mary was ill, her maids would call out 'mam est malade' (mother is ill) and come back from the kitchen with this orange preserve. The locals saw this and assumed the preserve had the name 'mam est malade' or marmalade!

Complete nonsense of course but sounds quite plausible to the unknowing.

[pinkypinky]

Originally Posted by Samsonsmasher

That De Valera was spared execution after 1916 because he was an American.

In fact it was because De Valera and his men were marched to a separate British barracks than the GPO garrison and the other garrisons.
General Maxwell planned to court martial and shoot not just the ringleaders but scores more and indeed a mass grave was dug. The executions went painfully slowly with the result that while most of the public initially supported the defeat of the rebels and were baying for blood it allowed time for tempers to cool and opinion to swing toward mercy while details of the heroism of the rebels began to be more widely known. Maxwell went from being a British hero for crushing a treasonous rabble to a brute killing heroic Gaels.
Embarassed the British government called off the executions.
In any case Maxwell is said to have asked who De Valera was and he was dismissed as unimportant. A mere maths teacher.
Spared the glorious fate of Pearse Clarke McDonagh et al De Valera assumed the leadership of the republican prisoners and the rest is history.

I was going to post this one too! Repeated in the Little Museum of Dublin when I did a tour there a couple of years ago.

[pinkypinky]

That many Irish people of sallow skin must descend from survivors of the Spanish Armada.

This comes up a lot now in discussing the ethnicity results of DNA tests.

[pinkypinky]

That all Irish records* were destroyed in the Customs House fire**

*Not all records
**Not even in the Customs House

[silliussoddius]

Originally Posted by pinkypinky

That many Irish people of sallow skin must descend from survivors of the Spanish Armada.

This comes up a lot now in discussing the ethnicity results of DNA tests.

Yeah, real cringy. I recall reading posts on ancestry's message board asking for background on Black Irish family names. This stuff takes on a life of its own.