The Backward Glance: A Miscellany of Irish History, Politics & Culture is a rare bird. It deals with topics of Irish political and cultural history which have only received sparse and spasmodic attention. It seeks to row out over a vast ocean of material and bring from the depths exotic specimens for rechecking and review.


It's Political themes include: The Bouncing Heart of de Valera; Sean South and the Border War; Northern Ireland and the Snares of History; The First Irish Republicans; Orangeism: Ireland's Second Tradition; Parnell: The Rebel Prince; Davitt, the Fenians and the Land War; The Third Home Rule Bill and the Ulster Crisis; Gladstone and the Cloud in the West; Sarsfield: Limerick's Hero; Dan Breen and the IRA; O'Duffy and the Blueshirts; Kickham; An Unrepentant Fenian; Captain Boycott saves his Harvest; Revisiting The Glorious and Immortal Memory; How Keynes got to Kinnegad; What really happened at Soloheadbeg. There are individual articles on: The Manchester Martyrs, Robert Emmet, James Dillon, Sean Lemass and Charles Haughey.


Cultural themes include: The Abbey and the Genius of the Irish Theatre; MacLimmoir and the Gate; John Millington Synge: The Man and his Achievement ; Samuel Beckett and The Absurd; Lecky: Historian and Liberal Unionist; John Pentland Mahaffy: Provost and Wit; The Story of London's Irish Club; The Limerick Pogrom; 1904; Bernard Canavan: Artist; Trinity College: 300 Years On.