In Search of Ireland's Heroes: The Story of the Irish from the English Invasion to the Present Day

by Carmel McCaffrey

Overview

A history of Ireland from the twelfth century to the present, following on the author's highly successful In Search of Ancient Ireland. In addition to plumbing the historical record, Ms. McCaffrey discusses the leading Irish families and their social roles, and the great castles and homes that dot the Irish countryside. The history comes alive for the present-day reader. Illustrated.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781566636155
Publisher:	Dee, Ivan R. Publisher
Publication date:	09/08/2006
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.15(d)

About the Author

Carmel McCaffrey is a native of Dublin and lectures on Irish history, literature, culture, and language at Johns Hopkins University and at the Smithsonian Institution. She is a Gaelic speaker and frequently travels to Ireland. Her earlier book, In Search of Ancient Ireland, written with Leo Eaton, was a companion to the PBS series. She lives in Mount Airy, Maryland.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     ix
Preface     xi
The Incomplete Conquest     3
The Recalcitrant Colony: FitzGerald Power in Ireland     32
Princes of Ireland: O'Neill and O'Donnell     55
The Plantation of Ulster and the Erosion of Gaelic Ireland     77
Catholic Dispossession: The New Elite     107
Patriots and Rebels: Grattan, Tone, and FitzGerald     126
A Most Distressful Country: Union and Famine     145
Struggling for Land Rights and Home Rule: Charles Stewart Parnell     176
Murmuring Name Upon Name: From Literature to Armed Rebellion     201
A Terrible Beauty: The Irish War of Independence     231
North and South: The Two States of Ireland     245
Chronology of Irish History     265
Bibliography     277
Index     279

What People are Saying About This

Kerby Miller

"Written with verve and passion... In Search of Ireland's Heroes is a welcome challenge to conservative interpretations of Ireland's history."-(Kerby Miller, Professor of History at the University of Missouri-Columbia)

Editorial Reviews

This is a great story, interesting to read and appealing to anyone with an interest in Ireland...McCaffrey uses original sources when possible, yet this is a readable history, not a textbook. She offers fascinating insights into the daily life, dress, housing and personalities of the Irish.

Carroll County Times

Written with verve and passion...In Search of Ireland's Heroes is a welcome challenge to conservative interpretations of Ireland's history.

Kerby Miller

There've been plenty of books on Irish history but none quite so vivid and accessible asIn Search of Ireland's Heroes... [which stands] solidly both as a companion volume and as an innovative history by itself.

California Bookwatch

The hero stories engage, the scene-setting shines as both scholarly and readable, and the character descriptions run deep....Magnificent collection.
— Michael Phelps

Examiner

McCaffrey (In Search of Ancient Ireland) has penned a "quick," partisan (from the Catholic viewpoint) version of Irish history. The arrival of the English in the 12th century is duly noted and the long melancholy march to the modern age is marked by jumps from King Dermot MacMurrough to Oliver Cromwell, the potato famine and the political turbulence of the late 19th century. Of particular interest is McCaffrey's excellent portrait of Charles Stewart Parnell and his policies in the 1870s and '80s, such as his involvement in the Land Leagues, his quest for Home Rule, his affair with Kitty O'Shea and subsequent abandonment by both church and state. McCaffrey also views the role of the Catholic Church in Ireland and comes to some interesting conclusions about orthodoxy and traditional Irish resistance to it. The political ferment of the early 20th century is explored by painting portraits of all the familiar names, from Patrick Pearse to Eamon De Valera and Michael Collins. The modern troubles in the North are examined and the Celtic Tiger is praised (somehow without mentioning its father, 1960s' prime minister Sean Lemass). A breezy, somewhat superficial work, this will best appeal to the Irish history neophyte. (Oct. 6) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

The hero stories engage, the scene-setting shines as both scholarly and readable, and the character descriptions run deep....Magnificent collection.

Examiner - Michael Phelps

"McCaffrey has succeeded in compiling a history of Ireland which is completely accessible without losing credibility."

Irish Emigrant