The Irish 100

I read it in less than a day and thought it was wonderful! Makes me proud/scared to be Irish! LOL

Any compilation such as this is bound to create controversy and dispute but I found it a valuable introductory overview of notable Irishmen and women through the ages. The rankings, of course, are always open to question--personally I can't quarrel with them much although there are some inaccuracies (e.g., that the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were hanged--they were shot). Nonetheless, this is an interesting, informative way to introduce readers (especially younger ones) to their Irish heritage without overwhelming them with details.

I was generally pleased with this book even though it attempts to do the utterly impossible-- rank an individual's contribution to the world (or 100, as the case may be). Surely, there will be important figures left off and ranks that will be disputed, but I believe in overall terms, Philbin does a good job in the book. His top five are as follows: (1) Saint Patrick, (2) Michael Collins, (3) Charles Stewart Parnell, (4) Daniel O'Connell, and (5) Eamon de Valera. Personally, I felt that Saint Patrick was ranked first less for who he was and more for what he symbolizes: a nation which, centuries later, is still a Catholic country. I was glad to see Collins ranked second and I think this is a sign of the changing times. For too long, Collins has been given little more than a paragraph or idle footnote in historical works. Thankfully, this is changing even though Philbin's own opinion of Collins doesn't seem particularly favorable. Of course there are others-- Patrick Pearse, John Devoy, Arthur Griffith, James Larkin, Douglas Hyde, Bobby Sands, et al., and approximately two to three pages of simple biography for each person. It is difficult for me to criticize Philbin for frequently injecting his own opinions into the text because this entire book is nothing but a construct _for_ Philbin's opinion; these are his rankings, his ideas, and his views. I can't see giving this book a full five star rating because it isn't strictly an academic text and I wouldn't suggest solely relying on this title if you are doing research on Irish history. If, however, you are in the market for an entertaining, mentally stimulating read on Irish and Irish-American history, this would be a great choice.