Tipperary is steeped in history. All human life is there: heroism and villainy, achievement and failure, compassion and conflict abound. The story includes medieval monasticism, Cromwell's visitations, the Famine, the land struggle, the War of Independence. Characters stretch from Ned of the Hill and Sean O Duibhir an Ghleanna to Dan Breen and Sean Treacy. In the Tipperary Historical Journal 2000 an estimable cohort of writers instruct and entertain us while presenting some of this history in accessible form. For 13 years, the Co Tipperary Historical Society has published this truly excellent journal. Under the editorship of Marcus Bourke, it transcends parochialism, and its remit in local and national history has attracted substantial authors such as William Nolan, Ruan O'Donnell, Tomas O Fiaich, James Maher and many others. A superb edition marked the 150th anniversary of the Great Famine and the Young Ireland rising of 1848. Now, stylishly entering its teenage years, the Journal 2000 deserves a welcome in contexts wider than Tipperary.
Broader context
While its perspective is firmly centred in the county, the Journal does not "cling to its parish as a barnacle to its rock". Although local affairs receive generous attention, cultural, social and political studies are placed in broader context. Given Tipperary's history, the local dimension quickly embraces the national and international. Thus, in a fascinating article by E.J. Shaughnessy, the author speaks of his great-grandfather, William Walsh from Cahir, who served in the US Marines during the American Civil War; and A.M. Chadwick's "War Memorials at Kickham Barracks" brings the reader to Afghanistan, Egypt and South Africa.
The Tipperary Journal is now what Marcus Bourke terms "a refereed journal". Any old scribble will not do! Its finely honed articles and extensive reviews exemplify the new rigour. Brendan O Cathaoir's study of John Blake Dillon elegantly interweaves historical analysis with astute personal observation. This piece from Dillon's acknowledged biographer will charm Tipperary readers as well as historians of mid-19th century Ireland. O Cathaoir's Famine Diary, later published in book form, is a major legacy to Irish social history.
In these bad days for local politics, Sean Gallagher's article on P.J. Meghen, local government commissioner for South Tipperary, is a welcome vindication of fine public servants. Meghen was "imposed" in 1934 when elected members of South Tipperary County Council refused to strike a rate and local authority finances had become parlous. Commissioner Meghen effectively restored order to local government and, mirabile dictu, won the respect and affection of the citizens. Gallagher describes his impressive collaboration with local groups, in particular Canon John Hayes's Muintir na Tire.
"Carden's Domain"
As a schoolboy, this diarist heard his father sing a popular ballad, "Carden's Wild Domain", which records the depredations and evictions of John Rutter Carden (1811-1866) in the Barnane-Templemore area. s evictions provoked attacks by local people so that he gained the soubriquet CWoodcock Carden. The Journal publishes a "balanced account" of the man by Arthur Carden, his greatgrandson. If the ballad was prejudiced, Arthur Carden tilts the balance the other way. Sources favourable to Carden are cited (e.g. The Times), depicting tenants as lazy, unreasonable and prone to violence. These sources view consolidation of farms as necessary, even if they led inexorably to evictions. Carden's demands - "rent or land, pay or quit" - seem determined and strong-minded to his descendant. Even the abduction of Miss Eleanor Arbuthnot is placed in the context of a "too tempestuous squire" and the possibility that Miss Arbuthnot was not entirely unwilling. Arthur Carden's article will be read with lively interest around mid-Tipperary.
The Irish Language is represented by Cit Ni Laoghog's tribute to Francis H. Power, a muinteoir taistil or travelling teacher of Irish. Much honour is due to these people - once described as men "with nuns' faces and bicycle clips" - who visited their districts on foot or on bicycle.
The Journal has many other pieces of high interest - butter markets in South Tipperary; Clonmel's pay schools (urban hedge schools); Presbyterianism in Fethard; Marlfield's embroidery industry. There is a short memoir on the War of Independence, articles on Holy Cross Abbey and on the Graystown medieval settlement (Fethard). The energetic Denis Marnane continues his history of the Famine in Tipperary. The critic and arts administrator Proinsias O Drisceoil ably defends Charles Kickham against analyses by some modern literary figures . Michael O'Donnell's academic study traces representation for Co Tipperary in Irish parliaments from 1560 to the Act of Union. Archaeological reports from Lisheen and Killea are both scholarly and readable.
In presentation and style, Tipperary Historical Journal 2000 brings credit to its editor and to the Tipperary Historical Society. One wishes this youthful yet mature publication a sincere floreat.