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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"An oracle discerning the hidden history of Ireland", January 30, 2003
This book when published in the 1830's was a mind-blower, in that it totally dismantled previous conceptions about Irelands' past and its infinite mysteries as a mystical Isle. As an Irishman reading this book, and having received much nonsense about the ancient history of Ireland as a child, the book was a revelation. In one quickfire second, Henry O'Brien shook the pillars and columns of the Ecclesiastics' orthodoxy to its foundations.Using that uniquely Irish landmark - the Round Tower - as his source, O'Brien interwove a miscellany of subjects like Buddhism, Hinduism, Mithraism, Linguistics, Gaelic customs, Language and attire, Persia, India, Egypt, Irish place names into an elongated thread of one book. The epicentre of this span of subjects was ancient Ireland and those magical people the Tuatha De Danaan! What is most remarkable is the book stands the test of time; the research and level of scholarly endeavour is astounding. O'Brien exposed myths, untruths and misconceptions of Ireland's ancient past; he unearthed secrets which had been hidden in the deep recesses of time - tablet sealed - which hadn't been broken or penetrated hereto. To do all this is a remarkable achievement; O'Brien defied orthodoxy - he unravelled the orthodox narrative that had been handed down by conventional dogma about the mysteries of the sacred Isle; in the process, he solved time honoured riddles; he posed fundamental questions and consistently answered those questions. Using his brilliant talent for linguistics and his collossus of learning, O'Brien's writing and synopsis was mesmerising; he opened a Pandora box. But such is the quaintness and seductiveness of the book that O'Brien displayed a penchant to vary the narrative at the appropriate time; included are fascinating illustrations and invariably he endowed each section with a poem as an appendage! The most salient image that reflects itself like a silhouette in the mind's eye was O'Brien's logic: his arguments were persuasive, very convincing and his shield was passion and great purpose. O'Brien was a master at breaking things down into definites - his was an exacting science. In conclusion, in the nineteenth century Henry O'Brien was a ground breaker; he chartered new territory hitherto uncovered by the sweeping sickle of academia. The most amazing and startling thing is that, arguably no scholar of renown or author to this day has tackled such a phalanx of subjects in one go - in one fell swoop; that the tautly bound secrets and mummification of Ireland's past haven't been unwound or unbound by any comparable unraveller of untruths since O'Brien's day. Truly 'The Round Towers of Atlantis' is the most seminal, definitive, dam-bursting, revelatory, scholarly account of the Irish Round Towers, the Tuatha De Danaan and Ireland's ancient past extant. O'Brien's vision and perception wade through and clear away the unfathomable mists surrounding the mysteries of this sacred Isle. He shows the wonder that was IRELAND; he re-visits this magical place; he holds up -like a magical apotheosis - the Tuatha De Danaan and unveils the rays of their wondrous glory. This book is a must read; it is an oracle; a key that opens the portal to the hidden history of Eireann. It is eternal because its domain was inscribed with an investigators plume recreating the glorious vista; its raison d'etre is truth. In this book, Henry O'Brien found the inner sanctum; its pulse beats to the rhythm of infinite time.
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