>If anyone knows of references to links between moonshining and the Irish >Independence Movement, or Scottish and Slovak nationalism, particularly >whether moonshine funds were channeled into the coffers of nationalist >groups, I would be very grateful for the assistance. Also, I >would appreciate any suggestion of places to visit during my research >travels that might provide information on local cultures' resistance to >colonialism, particularly if liquor was involved. > >Jonathan Highfield >Rhode Island School of Design >[log in to unmask] Jonathan,=20 i've recently been doing research on Prohibition and Irish Americans in New= York, and came across some material in _The Irish World_ that may be of use= to you. I can't recall the exact dates as i was looking at a looooooong= stretch of microfilm, but in the mid 1920s there were articles in the World= on attempts to stamp out the rural poteen (bootleg whisky) trade in= Ireland. I didn't see any blatant political references and my Irish history= knowledge isn't so great, but it seemed the nascent Repulican gov't wanted= to stamp out the trade both to preserve law and order and build tax= revenue. It does seem that some Irish republicans were pretty keen on the= idea of prohibition as a way to stengthen the young republic, but don't= take my word for it. The Irish World may be a good source to delve into fur= ther. Michael Lerner NYU Department of History [log in to unmask]