The Irish World: The History and Cultural Achievements of the Irish People

by Brian de Breffny

Paperback. Pub 2001 296 in Thames & Hudson Is the country that produced The Book of Kells the same one that built Georgian Dublin or gave birth to the poetry of Yeats All too often the great periods of Irish achievement have been presented as fragments. unrelated to a continuing tradition. Yet no other country has been so obsessed with its own past as Ireland. or more tenacious of its own unity. This book presents the whole of Ireland-the dark side as well as the light. the greatness as well as the suffering. the enduring victories as well as the humiliating defeats. Eleven leading scholars and writers trace the story of Ireland. beginning with prehistoric Ireland and its stupendous megalithic monuments. In the first millennium. the early Irish Church outshone ... Forewordp. 6 The Irish - Fact and Fictionp. 7Prehistoric

Genres: Ireland, History

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a coffee table book now over 40 years old so I am sure it has gone out of print. The edition I have is subtitled The Art and Culture of the Irish People and it has a slightly different dust jacket, but it is essentially the same book, comprising 9 chapters composed by various Irish and British subject matter experts beginning with Irish prehistory and leading in chronological order up to the (then) present day. The essays are high quality, but what is most impressive and of enduring value in this volume are the hundreds of photographs, lithographs, and other images of historic sites, events, works of art and architecture, personages, etc., of importance and interest in Irish history. Definitely worth collecting for lovers of all things Irish.

[Michael Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful histories and things I read I did not remember or know.