A History of Ireland

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in irish history. it is an excellent first read on the subject and takes a fair, thorough and well thought out approach to the many difficult issues in irish history. If you are already familar with irish history you will not find any new information here but for the begininer it is excellent.

This 250 page book is one in a series on the history of a European or Caribbean nation published by the English firm of Palgrave Macmillian. The book is a general survey of the troubled land of Ireland from the twelth century to today's headlines. It's author is Mike Cronin who does a good job in giving a neophyte to Irish studies a broad outline of the important dates,political players and historical situations in the tale of the Eire isle. We learn from this book that: a. Ireland was the leader in Christian missionary work and scholarship in the Dark Ages unallied with Roman Christianity. This influence waned due to Vikings invasions. b. Ireland is a nation torn by religious hatreds. Ever since the Protestants under British King William III won the battle of the Boyne in 1690 this enmity has led to murders, assassinations and religious divisions. Henry VIII was the first British monarch to subdue Ireland and make her part of the nation of Great Britain. c. The Easter Rebellion of 1916 in Dublin ended with an agreement with the London government to divide Ireland into two separate governments: The independent nation of Eire and the Northern Irish province of Great Britain. Eire consists of 26 counties and Northern Ireland of six. Efforts to unite Ireland have led to dismal failures and overt violence. d. There was an Irish Civil War in Eire following the establisment of the new republic in 1922. Eire is a nation of Roman Catholics which is mainly agricultural and conservative though this is changing. e. Northern Ireland is controlled by the Unionists Protestants though the Roman Catholic minority is making progress in the effort to win civil rights. f. Eirie was neutral in World War II while Ulster supported the British Empire. g. Ireland is a small nation of about eight million citizens. h. The horrible Irish Potato Famine of 1846-51 led to over one million deaths and the emigration of over two million Irish to America, Britain, Australia and Canada. Ireland has a long and tragic history of religious conflict, poverty, hunger and poor governmental leadership. Hopefully, the lives of the Irish will improve in the new century. Cronin's book is written in a straightforward style which is informative. The book could be used with profit by students, travelers and anyone interested in learning more about such a complex and troubled spot on the globe as Ireland.

My husband and I are planning a trip to Ireland next year, so we wanted to learn about Ireland's history to better understand the country and its people. This book was easy to read and understand, providing the right amount of detail about events and people. Very informative. A great book about Ireland's history that I recommend to anyone with no, or little knowledge of Ireland's past.

This is a useful addition to a bookshelf as well as a quick read over the complex history of Ireland. If you want to quickly place the "Wild Geese" or Wolf Tone or Cromwell in a historical context it will prove an invaluable tool. Furthermore, the prose is readable and not bogged down with a mass of professional notes. I think that's the key, information is presented in the style and detail of the professional historian but without all the scholarly apparatus. The scholar ,seeking proper reference or in depth character and motivation, must look elsewhere. Be advised that there is weighting toward the nineteenth and twentieth century. There is some discussion of the famine and emigration, but only as part of the historical progression. For that and diaspora study The Great Shame is a better bet. Would I buy this book again? Yes. Why? it is a valuable reference tool. Does it captivate me as some histories do? No. Best advice I can give: decide why you might want it.

This is a wonderful introduction to Irish history. Don't expect lots of details on any particular subject as this is a fairly short book considering the scope of the topic (only about 250 pages). The author states in the preface that the goal is to introduce newcomers to Irish history, and in that it does a wonderful job. The focus is primarily on political history and stretches from prehistoric Ireland to the present day. There's a "Further Reading" section at the end of the book recommending a broad range of other books for those wanting more detail on specific aspects of Irish history.