When Irish author and historian Barbara Walsh gained a doctorate in history from Lancaster University in 1999, she had already enjoyed a long and productive career which had encompassed a number of creative outlets as a writer, artist, broadcaster and multi-media producer. This activity included features, short stories, plays and commercial work for radio and TV.
Barbara’s authoritative biography of Hubert Latham was first issued in 2007 by Tempus Publishing as Forgotten Aviator Hubert Latham: a high-flying gentleman. Two new revised editions of this work with extra illustrations are now available for readers.
The United States edition:
Hubert Latham 1883-1912: Forgotten Aviator: A Man of his Time
French language edition:
Hubert Latham: Un Pilote Méconnu 1883-1912
This life story of a famous Anglo-French aviator whose star briefly lit up the early days of the 20th century evokes a lively and entertaining picture of international social and political events in the decade leading up to the First World War.
“part biography and part detective story”
Sailplane and Gliding, January 2008.
“Dr. Walsh has cast a net wide and deep to capture the subject of her monumental biography of the French aviator Hubert Latham…Rich and independent, Latham moved easily through the salons (and boudoirs) of a hedonistic international high-society intent upon breaking the moral strictures of the past”
John R.Thirkettle, CEng. MRAeS The Aerospace Professional, March 2008.
“a well researched and interesting work”
Pilot, December 2007.
Another of her recently successful books is a history of the most iconic shopping experience in Ireland. When the Shopping was Good: Woolworths and the Irish Main Street, published by Irish Academic Press in 2010.
“…a joy to read …she entertains and whets the appetite for more…”
Senator Feargal Quinn
“Extensive use of first-hand accounts bring depth and colour…”
Hannah Scott, The Sunday Times
“In this well researched study, Dr.Walsh provides a valuable insight into the evolution of Irish retail business.”
J. Anthony Gaughan, The Irish Catholic
Barbara Walsh’s academic research at Lancaster University produced a well-received definitive text for students of the history of women: Roman Catholic Nuns in England and Wales 1800-1937: A Social History, published by Irish Academic Press in 2002.
“extensive, rich and fascinating.”
The Tablet, 7 June, 2003.
She also co-authored a collection of short stories: Sisters, (written under the name of Barbara Haycock Walsh) published by Blackstaff Press in 1980.
“I found her “Tuesday Night” the best of the bunch in the book. Her opening gets you right into the atmosphere of the tale… there’s hardly a superfluous word in that paragraph and the readers attention is hooked at once. That’s how it should be.”
Belfast Telegraph, 27 October 1980.
