Books on irish history for the non historian

fguihen

I went to see trim castle today and memories of primary school history came flooding back.

I had forgotten about Strongbow, the irish clans, Hugh DeLacy etc etc. I want to find out a bit more on the whole history of ireland now, just to know where we came from and what not.

Can anyone recommend a good book, thats not crazy in depth, but goes a bit deeper than primary school history on the history of ireland, from neolithic through to the vikings,irish clans, normans, english etc.

All recommendations appreciated. Thanks.

E39MSport

I read 'The concise history of Ireland' by Sean duffy. It was good imo.

Dionysus

fguihen wrote: »

I went to see trim castle today and memories of primary school history came flooding back.

I had forgotten about Strongbow, the irish clans, Hugh DeLacy etc etc. I want to find out a bit more on the whole history of ireland now, just to know where we came from and what not.

Can anyone recommend a good book, thats not crazy in depth, but goes a bit deeper than primary school history on the history of ireland, from neolithic through to the vikings,irish clans, normans, english etc.

All recommendations appreciated. Thanks.

The Course of Irish History, edited by TW Moody and FX Martin has been a standard text since it was first published in 1967. It's now on its 4th edition. It's probably still the best, and most affordable, overview, Its range is probably also what you want: http://www.amazon.com/Course-Irish-History-T-Moody/dp/1570980152

If you have a bit of money, you could buy all 9 volumes of A New History of Ireland, which is quite superb with all the leading historians of the late 20th century contributing, and an entire volume dedicated to maps:

http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/series/NewHistoryofIreland/?view=usa


Try anything by Kenneth Nicholls for late medieval and early modern Ireland. His classic text, and one of the most acclaimed of the 20th century is of course Gaelic and Gaelicised Ireland from 1972, which has been republished recently. Katharine Simms is also superb on late medieval Ireland, particularly on Gaelic Ireland and warfare. From Kings to Warlords (1987) is one of her finest books on Gaelic Ireland.
For 14th & 15th centuries you could try Art Cosgrove's Late Medieval Ireland 1370-1541 for a good overview.

For 16th century, Colm Lennon's Sixteenth-Century Ireland from 1994 is the standard text, and it was recently republished in 2007. It's particularly strong on social history covering religious guilds, mercantile life, trade and commerce and all such things.

Anything after the 16th century is just contemporary politics.


PS: There is now a quite superb book on Trim's history from 2005 written by Michael Potterton, Medieval Trim: History and Archaeology. If you want to get an in-depth knowledge of Trim, it's well worth taking it out of your library. Of course nobody wants to know this much, though!;)

fguihen

thanks for the replies guys. il see if i can get my hands on one or two of those recommendations.

brianthebard

Lennon's book is good and all (he lectured me) but you'd need to collect the whole set then, and they are all very detailed. Personally I'd suggest something like the Oxford history of Ireland, or something similiar, its an academic book but its made for a worldwide audience and would imo have the right balance of detail, time span, and academic rigour.

Joe1919

I enjoyed 'The four nations: a history of the United Kingdom' By Frank Welsh It contains a lot of Irish history and its interesting to view Irish history in the context of the events taking place in Britian.
Certain events, such as the 1641 rebellion and Battle of the Boyne make more sense when we see what was happening in Britian. It also tries to answer questions such as why Wales settled as part of Britain relatively peacefully whereas Ireland had its troubles.
I think it starts around 54BC to 2001.

brianthebard

Oh yeah that was the other book I was trying to remember! Thanks, I'd also recommend four nations.

Ostrom

Christine Kinealeys' recent 'New History of Ireland' is also excellent

conchubhar1

alan titley did a small book of irish history

not sure how great it is, but i'd imagine it was quite decent at least
flicked through it and it seemed to the point but just an overview

conchubhar1

brianthebard wrote: »

Lennon's book is good and all (he lectured me) but you'd need to collect the whole set then, and they are all very detailed. .

great book - but for a person who wants a book for a non historian i would wholely recomend not using this book