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Article: Rory Sweetman. Faith and Fraternalism: a History of the Hibernian Society in New Zealand, 1869-2000.(Book Review)
- Article from:
- Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society
- Article date:
- January 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Australian Catholic Historical Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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RORY SWEETMAN. Faith and Fraternalism: A History of the Hibernian Society in New Zealand, 1869-2000. Hibernian Society, Wellington NZ, 2002; 228 pages.
Rory Sweetman is a professional historian, commissioned to write a history of 130 years 'of achievement by Hibernians in New Zealand'. There is here both a strength and a weakness, not of Hibemianism, but of the treatment by historians generally of friendly societies.
The strength is that Sweetman was asked to bring his skills and experience to a task of history, not, as has often been the case, as a fraternal insider asked to invent himself as an historian in order that the best possible picture might ...