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

McCaffrey, Carmel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1566636159 ISBN 13: 9781566636155

Publisher: Ivan R. Dee, 2006

Synopsis

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.

About this title

From the Publisher:

In this engaging sequel to her previous book, In Search of Ancient Ireland, Carmel McCaffrey tells the story of the struggle between English and Irish aspirations in the centuries since the first English incursions into Ireland in the twelfth century. This is a narrative history filled with powerful personalities and families who fought in battle and through constitutional means to free Ireland from English control. With an extensive use of original sources--letters, personal accounts, and parliamentary documents--Ms. McCaffrey brings these individuals to life and tells their story. We meet the intrepid O'Neills, the colorful O'Donnells, the wily Fitzgeralds, and many others whose passion for freedom and for Ireland could not be conquered. The Irish, as the book recounts, struggled over many generations to hold on to ancient lands only to lose their fight in the Elizabethan wars. In the early 1600s the ancient Irish Brehon laws were extinguished, and it seemed as if the Gaelic past had been washed from memory. Yet the story of Irish determination did not end there. Other generations took up the effort to establish an Irish parliament free of English control that would answer the needs of all citizens. With extensive use of original source material from Parliamentary records, personal accounts and letters McCaffrey brings to this stirring history the same adroitness that prompted Terry Golway of the New York Observer to call her first book marvelous...fine storytelling and analysis. With 25 black-and-white photographs and a map.

About the Author:

Carmel McCaffrey lectures on Irish history, literature, culture, and language at Johns Hopkins University and at the Smithsonian Institution.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1566636159
• ISBN 13: 9781566636155
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304