Reviews

When President Higgins last month made an unprecedented political intervention in defence of Irish neutrality, Conor Gallagher must have been jumping for joy. The Irish Times correspondent's new book – Is Ireland Neutral? The Many Myths of Irish Neutrality – could not have been better ti

There is an aphorism to the effect that history is past politics, and politics is present history. In this study, journalist Phil Tinline considers some of the events, over the first century of mass democracy, when politics lurched from crisis to crisis. The aim is see how this history of political

The criminal trial of Marshal Philippe Pétain in Paris in 1945 was that of the highest ranking military officer accused of treason, in having betrayed his country by collaboration with the enemy. The contrast in personal fortunes was extreme: Pétain had, as supreme commander of French

A psychonaut, according to a dictionary, is someone who explores altered states of consciousness, especially through hallucinatory drugs. The term apparently originates from 1970 when one author described the psychedelic, drug-induced experiences with his friend. Mike Jay is a historian of

The many, and systematically horrible, events in the southern states of America over many years in the middle of the last century are described in Margaret Burnham’s new book By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners. The phrase ‘Jim Crow’ is an American shorthand for

There’s no denying that Jodie Comer's West End début, brought to cinemas yesterday by National Theatre Live, is electrifying. From the moment she walks on stage as Tessa, a confident criminal defence lawyer on the verge of greatness at the London bar, Comer demands nothing less than rap

Christopher Stanley, litigation consultant at KRW LAW LLP in Belfast, offers a timely review of a new book documenting the campaign for victims and survivors of Magdalene laundries. For almost 15 years I have practised law predominantly concerned with addressing the human rights deficit created by t

Fed up of endlessly trawling through Netflix for something decent to watch? We’ve decided to help you out with occasional recommendations.

Barrister and lecturer Ruth Cannon recommends a new book on the funding of the Irish war of independence. There is a saying that money isn't everything, but everything requires money. The new counter-state set up by Sinn Féin in 1919 certainly did, if only to pay judicial salaries in its alte

Christopher Stanley, litigation consultant at Belfast-based KRW LAW LLP, reviews a new textbook on public law. As an English lawyer practising in Ireland – north and south – on a range of issues including the legacy of the conflict and the mother and baby homes scandal, to ask to review

Scottish silk and chair of the Tumbling Lassie Committee, Alan McLean QC, takes a look at a new book on modern slavery.

Kapil Summan, editor of our sister publication Scottish Legal News, reviews Trials of the State: Law and the Decline of Politics by Jonathan Sumption. Though apt to be caricatured as some sort of anti-judge in the post-prorogation world, iconoclast jurist Jonathan Sumption—in this, h

Irish Legal News editor Connor Beaton assesses Mike Chinoy's new biography of Irish human rights lawyer Kevin Boyle. An accidental pioneer of international human rights law, Kevin Boyle would be furious if he was alive today – not only at prevailing injustices around the world, but also at con

Barrister Andrew McKeown critically examines the proposals put forward by legal tech expert Professor Richard Susskind OBE in his latest book. Online Courts and the Future of Justice is a fascinating read for lawyers and non-lawyers alike. It is clear that Professor Susskind is sincerely interested

Scots lawyer and author Willie McIntyre was highly impressed with Scottish advocate Stephen O'Rourke's debut novel. I was fortunate enough to be sent an advance reader copy of Stephen O’Rourke’s historical novel, The Crown Agent, which I raced through one Sunday afternoon recently; it&r