Ireland's English Question: Anglo-Irish Relations 1534-1970 [Paperback]

Patrick James. O'Farrell (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Schocken Books (June 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805203486
• ISBN-13: 978-0805203486
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,832,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Not an Easy Read but Essential for Anyone Who Loves Ireland, August 21, 2010

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PoeBoy51 "PoeBoy51" (Elkins Park, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ireland's English Question: Anglo-Irish Relations 1534-1970 (Paperback)

This book was one of the hardest reads of my life in its emotionally wrenching descriptions of the hardships the Irish have faced in their struggle for national identity and sheer survival. It well illustrates the old term for Ireland as "the crucified nation." I could only read a few dozen pages at a time, because there was so much to weigh heavily on mind and heart... but it was well worth the internal turmoil to get through it.
Yes, I remembered the textbook histories that I'd studied in college and that left me with a sense of how heroic the various proponents of Irish independence were. I did not, however, fully understand the individual burden of each Irish person under the English "ascendancy" until Patrick O'Farrell set it out in full for me.
I only read this book after the happiest week of my life, spent in Ireland. I was struck at every turn by the down-to-earth humor, the easy-going friendliness, and the sheer generosity of the people who I met in that breathtakingly beautiful land. Little did I realize what a horrible burden of bitterness comes with their heritage of struggle against political and religious oppression... which Ireland's English Question lays out so well. Too many times in history, the persecuted have become the persecutors at the first opportunity. Whether it is in Christian foregiveness or the national gift of mining humor from pathos, or perhaps a combination of those two, it is amazing that Ireland as an independent nation has become a beacon of hope and charity. To read this book is to appreciate the miracle that is Ireland. "One cannot appreciate Heaven without having seen Hell."