Despite the claim of the old war song, old soldiers invariably die; before they do so, some fade from public attention. If they are famous or notorious enough, they may be restored to history's pages through the efforts of sympathetic biographers.
"The Elizabethan captain" and Irish leader, Richard Tyrrell, has been fortunate with his biographer, Jennifer Kelly, even though she might strike the reader as an unlikely chronicler of such a man and his times. Her metier is not history but music and this is her first book. Richard Tyrrell - Elizabethan Captain, by Jennifer A. Kelly (Tyrrellspass Development Association, £10), was written and published to mark the 400th anniversary of the battle of Tyrrellspass in 1597. Not only is it Ms Kelly's first book, but it is also the first detailed study of Tyrrell's long life and turbulent times, a subject worthy of this scholarly and well-researched study.
The author makes good use of the English State Papers, apart from the Annals of the Four Masters and O'Sullivan Beare's history the only sources of written information about Tyrrell. All three sets of sources are, of course, dangerously biased and the author is keenly aware of that. Besides, the early and last decades of Tyrrell's life remain largely a mystery, even after Ms Kelly's diligent delving into English, Irish and Spanish archives.
Between the years 1565 and 1632, however, the State Papers Relating to Ireland carry many references to Tyrrell, his family and his activities. As a young man he joined the English army in Ireland (to gain military experience, perhaps) but his allegiance was soon transferred to the Irish cause. He served with distinction under Hugh O'Neill and became Colonel-General of Munster during the rebellion of O'Neill and O'Donnell. He was a brave soldier, a skilled strategist and a respected leader; he fought at Kinsale and Dunboy and his victory over Barnewall at Tyrrellspass is regarded as a classic encounter.
This is a book that adds considerably to our knowledge of a resourceful Irish commander, his career and the Ireland in which he lived. It is enhanced by many maps, drawings and photographs, though there is no index. It is a most appropriate publication to mark Richard Tyrrell's most famous victory.
Another old soldier, whose life-span was even longer than Tyrrell's, is the subject of Dilseacht - The Story of Comdt. General Tom Maguire and the Second (All-Ireland) Dail, by Ruairi O Bradaigh (Irish Freedom Press, £4.95). Maguire, who lived to be 101 and who died as recently as 1993, epitomised the uncompromising republican tradition of those who remained faithful to the Second (All-Ireland) Dail, to which he was elected as a TD for South Mayo-South Roscommon in 1921. His ideals had been forged in the War of Independence during which he was General Officer Commanding the Second Western Division of the IRA and he remained true to them to the end. Ruairi O Bradaigh has written an enlightening biography of a remarkable man whose influence is still felt in the broad republican family.
Genealogists will agree that no single book, unless it is a thousand-page tome, can encompass detailed information on all the records and source-material preserved in the country's archives, north and south. However, Tracing your Ancestors in Northern Ireland, by Ian Maxwell (Stationery Office, £9.99), does provide a useful summary of the most important records held in the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland. These include a combination of official and private records and this expertly edited volume, which is illustrated, should be an invaluable guide to anyone setting out to trace a family tree. The expert editor is Grace McGrath.
If, in the process, the amateur genealogist comes across a puzzling place-name, then Irish Local Names Explained, by P.W. Joyce (Roberts Books, £4.99), is indispensable. This is a facsimile reprint of the 1923 edition. It also contains a vocabulary of Irish root words which will enable the reader to do his or her investigation of place-names not mentioned among the 2,000 explained in the book.
Remembering Limerick (Limerick Civic Trust, £12.99) is a fitting collection of historical essays commemorating the 800th anniversary of the granting of the city's first charter by Prince John in 1197. The time-span covered by a diverse assembly of authors ranges from Viking to modern times and includes articles (not all serious) by former mayors, local historians, academics and young graduates of several universities being published for the first time.
Richard Roche is a writer and historian