A Short History of Ireland [Paperback]

John O'Beirne Ranelagh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 27, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0521469449 | ISBN-13: 978-0521469449 | Edition: 2

This is an updated edition of John O'Beirne Ranelagh's short history of Ireland, covering the full sweep of Irish history from the earliest times up to President Clinton's second visit to Ireland in 1998, in the wake of the Omagh bomb and the surrounding peace initiatives. Throughout, the author's aim is to cast light on the people and the events that have contributed to present-day Irish society, in both North and South.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A book which compresses the Irish story from prehistory to post-Sunningdale with notable dexterity and justice of scale, [the author] attains a remarkably dispassionate detachment of tone." The Times Educational Supplement

Book Description

This is an updated edition of John O'Beirne Ranelagh's short history of Ireland, covering the full sweep of Irish history from the earliest times up to President Clinton's second visit to Ireland in 1998, in the wake of the Omagh bomb and the surrounding peace initiatives. Throughout, the author's aim is to cast light on the people and the events which have contributed to present-day Irish society, in both North and South.' clear and objective and free from recrimination A useful contribution to Irish history--both readable and reliable.'Albion

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 338 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (January 27, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521469449
• ISBN-13: 978-0521469449
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #76 in Books > History > Europe > Western

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So much history so close to home, February 12, 2001

By 

Volkswagen Blues "cead1" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Short History of Ireland (Paperback)

Ranelagh does a fantastic job of condensing a couple thousand years of history into a readable couple hundred pages. This book is a first-rate shortened version of Irish history.

At times, one thinks more and deeper connections could have been drawn (such as the resurrection, by twentieth century hunger-strikers, of Brehon Law-era practices like fasting for the redress of grievances) and more discussion fostered on particularly hard-hitting aspects of Ireland's past and present. But this is, after all, a SHORT history, and a remarkable one at that.

There is good coverage of Ireland before the arrival of the English, in a way that touches on both historical developments and cultural ones. Likewise, the era of Cromwell and the disastrous run-up to and aftermath of Black 1847 are given good detail. One comes away feeling a bit as though more recent history (say, 1916 and on) has been slighted, but this feeling is probably just the product of years of weighted emphasis on the twentieth century; Ranelagh does well to bring a historical balance to the overall sweep of Ireland's development into what it is today.

And what it is today is, for Ranelagh, closely invested as well in the question of what England is and no longer is. "A Short History of Ireland" may disturb those who view England as a still-unwelcome visitor into Irish history and culture, but Ranelagh concludes convincingly that the story of Ireland from the 13th century on is intimately related to its evolving relationship with its slightly larger neighbor and one-time persecutor/antagonist. Ranelagh quite usefully and realistically departs from other histories of the Emerald Isle in asserting that the England/Ireland relationship can, for a slew of reasons that he points to, only ever be one of co-dependence.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant Book, May 21, 2005

By 

Michael H. Jones - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Short History of Ireland (Paperback)

For anyone who wants to understand the war on terror and its Irish formulation, this is essential and fascinating reading. Ranelagh is remarkably balanced and fair-minded, while at the same time providing the necessary information and facts without burdening the reader with excessive and obfuscatory detail. He deals with Irish prehistory quickly and interestingly, giving more space to the modern age and its complex of idealism, heroism, nationalism, murder and terror, explaining the motivations and historical prisons so many people in Ireland have endured, coming right up to the present North and South. It is a Short History. More detail would make it something else. But as a short history that is satisfying, well-written and authorative, it cannot be bettered. A remarkable achievement.