Post: #1

Has anyone read any books on the history of Ireland that they can recommend? I will be going there (well, Northern Ireland) this summer and I would like to have at least a general background on a country that I know very little about.

Post: #2

(02-11-2013 09:53 AM)Doctor Wrote:  Has anyone read any books on the history of Ireland that they can recommend? I will be going there (well, Northern Ireland) this summer and I would like to have at least a general background on a country that I know very little about.

"How The Irish Saved Western Civilization" by Thomas Cahill is worth a read...

Post: #3

Title: The Rising, Ireland: Easter 1916
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-19280-186-9
Fantastic read

Post: #4

WASTED: http://www.irishcentral.com/ent/Drunken-...01974.html

Post: #5

that book scotian posted that's only a minority of the Irish that act like that. i am glad i am not one of them getting wasted and pissing my hard earned money up against a wall i have more sense then that the book i have quoted is brilliant its about our fight to get our Independence from England made me soo proud to be irish reading it

Post: #6

Any book you read is going to be bias in one way or the other.

It's a small percentage of the population the actually give a toss about the religion and politics and these are the people who you don't really want to speak to because;

A. They are a sub species
B. all they know about is the tiny little hovel they have spent their entire lives in.

Come over with the attitude that you want to write your own book.

Post: #7

Thanks guys. Not sure I'll read WASTED, but I will definitely read the other two.

That's a good point that the people who care about religion and politics are the people I don't want to meet. I'd just like to have a general background, significance of buildings, how things got to where they are, etc. I mean I've never really looked at hardly any Irish history outside a little bit into the Troubles so I'd be pretty ignorant about even basic stuff. Plus I will only be there for about a week (including some stuff I have to do while I'm there) so it wouldn't be much of a book I'd write for myself. Good thought though.

Post: #8

what interests you? i studied irish history at university. we covered the english conquest of ireland 1509-1603, the flight of the earls in 1607, the plantation of ulster 1606-1700s, the irish rebellion of 1641, cromwell's irish campaign 1649-53, the williamite–jacobite war 1789-91, the united irishmen 1798 rebellion, the great irish famine 1845-52, irish diaspora (9-10 million irish have left the country since 1700), the fenian rising 1867, the easter rising 1916, the irish war of independence 1919-21, the irish civil war 1922-23, the IRA border campaign 1956-62 and the troubles 1968-98.

it is a bloody, brutal history of failed rebellions, massacres and suppressed nationalism.

it is about as heavy and dispiriting as russian history. also highly complex with a vast array of different movements and political parties to digest.

i can provide recommendations if you let me know what you want to read about.

Post: #9

I appreciate the awesome help, but I don't know enough to even answer your question. Here is everything I know about Irish History: Druids, St. Patrick, run ins with Vikings, Potato famine, Catholic Protestant Troubles. I've heard Gerry Adams speak, but I was some punk 18 year old who didn't know who the hell he was listening to at the time. I'm only going to be there a week so I don't need to go crazy, but I'm not going until August so I have plenty of time to read up on stuff. I just like to go places and understand what I'm looking at and how it came to be that way. I would definitely like to learn a little bit about the Troubles since I will be in Northern Ireland. Anything general history I guess, early or late or whatever. I wish I could make specific requests, but anything you throw my way I'm sure will be a big help./

Post: #10

It's not a history book per se but great and fun to read: Roddy Doyle - "A star called Henry" (and actually everything from that author).