Read Ireland Book News
Issue 96
Celtic Ireland
Gift Books
A Compact History of Ireland by Sarah Healy (Paperback; 4.99 IRP / 7.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
This book provides in succinct, accessible form, a thematic rather than strictly chronological account of Irish history. The story of Ireland has been told many times but never quite in this form. The author's book begins with a comprehensive historical portrait which presents the whole fabric of three thousand years of Irish life. For subsequent chapters she has selected for development the significant threads of the historical web, the themes of invasion, rebellion, the Black North, and aspects of the culture, especially literary theory, that make the whole of Ireland the cultural jewel of the Western World.
The Story of Irish Emigration by Frank D'Arcy (Paperback; 4.99 IRP / 7.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
The small island of Ireland provides a striking example of exile and opportunity, of exodus and disaster, of new communities and faithful memories, from the idealistic monks of the 6th century to the ambitious professionals of the late 20th. Emigration to the 'New World' as we know it began in the 18th century. During the famines of the 1840s, the flood became an exodus and literally millions crossed the Atlantic. Later in the 19th century, as the Industrial Revolution flourished in Britain, huge numbers of Irish made the shorter journey to work there in the mines and mills, to build roads and bridges and enlist in armies. This movement of population continued apace until the 1960s. In a distant corner of the British Empire, the Irish too made their mark. So many Irish were deported or simply emigrated to Australia that a substantial minority of the population can claim Irish descent. The Irish had a strong influence on the communities where they settled, becoming a substantial political and religious force, particularly in the United States. This book gives a fascinating account of the Irish in exile in the four corners of the globe.
The 1916 Rising by Edward Purdon (Paperback; 4.99 IRP / 7.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
The Easter Rising, which lasted for five days at the end of April 1916 and made Pearse, Connolly and MacDermott household names, is probably the single most important event in the history of modern Ireland. Attitudes to it have ranged from acclamation to execration. It seemed to end in abject failure with its participants jeered and spat upon by their compatriots, yet within weeks it was realised that its purpose had been attained: a spirit of revolution had been kindled in a quiescent country. The effects of that gesture for good or ill are with us still and this account of its context, course and consequences is required reading for those who would understand the history of this island ever since that triumphant failure.
The Blarney Stone by Peg Coghlan (Paperback; 4.99 IRP / 7.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
The 'blarney' or gift of the gab is one endowment all Irish people are said to possess. The reasons for the existence of this power over words are complicated but the hospitable Irish, generous as ever, have provided even strangers with the means of achieving it. All they have to do is kiss the Blarney Stone in the MacCarthy castle in the village of Blarney. This book tells the story of the Blarney Stone. It also explains why thousands of people each year climb an exhausting circular stairway in a village near Cork to achieve the envied Hibernian fluency.
The Story of the Claddagh Ring by Sean McMahon (Paperback; 4.99 IRP / 7.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
'Let love and friendship reign!' is the motto of the famous Irish Claddagh ring. This lovely token of fealty - a ring in gold or silver comprising two hands surrounding a heart and surmounted by a crown - takes its name from the Claddagh, an ancient fishing village now part of Galway city. The earliest surviving examples are from about 1700 but it is known that the rings were popular much earlier. Tradition has it that in the Claddagh these rings were handed down from mother to daughter. Now the Claddagh ring is a sought-after piece of jewellery and a symbol of romance the world over.
Irish Saints by Peg Coghlan (Paperback; 4.99 IRP / 7.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
The island of Saints and Scholars was aptly named and produced hundreds of true saints from the 5th to the 9th century, although there are officially only three canonised saints: Laurence O'Toole, Malachy and Oliver Plunkett. This book provides biographies of a representative selection of the women and men whose sanctity, austerity, humanity and scholarship are the glory of Irish history, the remarkable people who lit a light that shone in the darkness and was never quenched.
A Book of Irish Insults by Sean McMahon (Paperback; 4.99 IRP / 7.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
Insults may be defined at their simplest as remarks or descriptions not intended as complimentary. Ireland can number among its sons and daughters some of the wittiest insulters ever - Swift, Behan and Myles na Gopaleen are just three who come to mind. This book is filled with insults and witticisms.
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