Ireland

Horrible Histories Specials #7

by Terry Deary

The Horrible History of Ireland tells you about centuries of dreadful deeds, from cruel Celtic chieftains and suffering saints to the troubled 20th century. Want to why wax models were captured and made Prisoners of War, which warriors went into battle naked? & how to make yourself invisible? Read on for a visit to the chambers of horrors (if you dare), a game to make you hurl, and the top twenty Irish curses. Find out the tragic truth about Ireland's foul famines, savage sieges and wretched rebellions, and the incredible Irish who lived and died in them. History has never been so horrible!

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ireland, Childrens, Historical, Humor, Middle Grade

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2000

About the author

A former actor, theatre-director and drama teacher, Deary says he began writing when he was 29. Most famously, he is one of the authors of the Horrible Histories series of books popular among children for their disgusting details, gory information and humorous pictures and among adults for getting children interested in history. Books in the series have been widely translated into other languages and imitated.

A cartoon series has been made of the series of books and was shown on CiTV for a period in 2002.

The first series of a live-action comedy sketch show of the same name was shown on CBBC in 2009 and a second series is due.

Terry is also known widely throughout children and adult reading groups alike for his True Stories series (see below for series list).

He received an Honorary Doctorate of Education from the University of Sunderland in 2000. His numerous accolades also include the Blue Peter "Best Nonfiction Author of the Century" Award in the U.K.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Paddy O'Connor · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is racist. Rather than explaining anything, it uses as many events in Ireland's history to portray them as 'typical drunk potatoe eating paddies.'
I know it's for kids and meant to be funny but teaching kids old fashioned stereotypes for a cheap laugh, isn't funny. It's lazy and embarassing. If someone wrote about slavery or the holocaust the way Cromwell or the famine are treated in this... there'd probably be pictures on Facebook with ironic captions for us all to share and show our anger.
If you want to get your kids into history, this book isn't the way to do it. It's the 'daily mail' of history.

[Lannie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too much of a Bri*ish lean for what I know about Ireland now.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has probably been my favourite of the Horrible Histories books that I’ve recently read through, mainly because I didn’t know a huge amount about Irish history other than the potato famine and the Troubles.

This taught me a lot about some of the earlier stuff and covers Ireland BC and during the Middle Ages, as well as the more recent stuff. My only real complaint would be the fact that because it was published back in 2000, it doesn’t cover any of the last 20 years. It would have been cool to have talked about the abortion law change.

All in all though, I did enjoy reading it and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re interested in Irish history. I’d like to follow it up with something else, preferably something aimed at a sort of GCSE level and written by a native Irishperson. There’s a lot of great stuff here, even though it’s aimed at children and parents, and I’m glad that I picked it up. It’s one that’s good for both kids and adults.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this would be about Ireland, and YEAH, I know we are tightly bound with England no matter what, but it was like almost half and half. Maybe they still just don't understand us. Not the humour I was expecting, really just sad. We have a sad, sad history according to this book. Always on the bottom, always losing. I know the "horrible" aspect is going to link to killing which will link to war which will link to England, but just... It could have been much better.

[Ettelwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Když jsem byla mladší, tak mě Děsivky minuly opravdu velkým obloukem. Tak to teď po čase doháním. Je to náramný, pojmout dějiny tak, aby se při něm děti bavily a mnoho učitelů, kteří nedokážou udělat výuku zajímavou by se mohlo čas od času třeba taky inspirovat.

[Fareeha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Ireland. Such a sad history full of death and destruction. But this series, I sure do love it !!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really funny and interesting. My favorite Irish proverb: Death is the poor man's doctor.

[R.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Κριτική στα Ελληνικά πιο κάτω...

Decent overview of Irish history, I read the book in one afternoon and found it interesting. The illustrations were fine too.

I was surprised that there is lots of focus and mention on the Troubles (fair enough), but no mention on the Good Friday agreement and latest developents on these issues? Maybe too recent developments to be History as the book was originally published around 2000? Of course not easy to write about history even on a long, adult analytical book, let alone a short overview of History in a light, superficial teen book...

That said, while this is written for a younger audience, I found the humor a bit meh and I think my teenage self would have find it meh too. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

I'm always interested on history, so if another book of the series comes my way I'll read it for sure, but I don't think I'll actively go seeking for one.


Αξιοπρεπής επισκόπηση της Ιρλανδικής ιστορίας, διάβασα το βιβλίο σε ένα απόγευμα και το βρήκα ενδιαφέρον. Και η εικονογράφηση δεν ήταν άσχημη.

Δεν με εξέπληξε το γεγονός ότι υπάρχει πολλή έμφαση σε αυτό που λέμε Troubles στο τελευταίο μέρος του βιβλίου, αλλά με εξέπληξε λίγο αρνητικά ότι δεν υπάρχει καμία αναφορά στη συμφωνία της Μεγάλης Παρασκευής και στις πιο πρόσφατες εξελίξεις σε αυτά τα ζητήματα. Ίσως είναι πολύ πρόσφατες εξελίξεις για να θεωρηθούν Ιστορία, καθώς το βιβλίο εκδόθηκε αρχικά γύρω στο 2000; Φυσικά, δεν είναι εύκολο να γράψεις για Ιστορία ακόμη και σε ένα μακροσκελές, αναλυτικό βιβλίο για ενήλικες, πόσο μάλλον μια σύντομη επισκόπηση της Ιστορίας μιας χώρας σε ένα ελαφρύ, επιφανειακό εφηβικό βιβλίο...

Παρόλα αυτά, ενώ το βιβλίο είναι γραμμένο για ένα νεότερο κοινό, βρήκα το χιούμορ λίγο "κάπως" και νομίζω ότι ο έφηβος εαυτός μου θα το έβρισκε κι αυτός "κάπως". Γούστα είναι αυτά...

Γενικά η Ιστορία με ενδιαφέρει, οπότε θα διάβαζα στο μέλλον κάποιο άλλο βιβλίο της σειράς, όπως κι έχω διαβάσει ήδη κάποια, απλά όταν πέφτουν τυχαία στα χέρια μου παρά αναζητώντας τα ενεργά.

[Julie]

I remember reading this book as a child. My mum, who is Irish, bought it for me. As an adult, I sometimes wonder why I internalised certain ideas about Irish people, such as the belief that they were constantly getting pregnant out of wedlock, portrayed as rough or backward, and often using bad language.

I understand that history can be told in a playful and exaggerated way, but I think historians, particularly when writing for young readers, have a moral and ethical responsibility to present the past through a fair and relatively objective lens. This book, unfortunately, seems to be told through a colonial perspective, which is a shame.

I am incredibly proud to be half Irish and to come from a people who have endured so much and continue to contribute meaningfully to the world. That pride, however, did not come from this book. I do not mean the author any harm and hope this was simply an oversight.

[Cidolfus · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I found it to be quite amusing it is interesting how poignant some of the less humorous parts, such as the part about some prisoners being hacked to pieces and their heads being used as a football.

"Were they Catholics or Protestants?"

"They were human beings."

The quote about the family found huddled in the corner, with the wife having died last was rather upsetting, but this is HORRIBLE Histories, wouldn't be horrible if we didn't talk about it.

I feel as though Terry Deary did a well enough job portraying both the Irish and English side in the Troubles well enough, despite the fact he is an Englishman. It takes quite a bit of thought and restraint to do so.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, again an in depth look into the history of one place rather than a specific time period and this time it’s all about Ireland. Now, I don’t think I had read this before now, so this was a bit of a unique experience for me.

There are a lot in this book that also discusses England and how tied together the two countries are, but that is to be expected when Irish and English history go hand in hand for a number of centuries. And while there are times where it feels like you’re racing through the time periods, there is a lot of history to go through so it’s hardly surprising.

[Koivula]

A lot that I should have known but didn't. Cruel history.
I wish more history books were something like this - serious facts but also humour, text but also comic strips.

Helmet: 20 (ammatti, jota ei enää ole tai joka on harvinainen; executioner)
Popsugar: 23 (set somewhere you'd like to visit in 2021)
Pohjoinen: 11(sijoittuu katastrofi- tai epidemia-aikaan)
Kouluhaaste: 11 (musiikki; kannessa harppu)

[Iria Monreal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this book while I was doing my Erasmus in Ireland. I wanted to know more about the country and the culture.

I loved it. It made me understand a lot of things about the country and also made me want to know more about Ireland when I finished reading it.

My curiosity grew up and I started visiting all kind of museums, going on tours, etc.

My experience was so beautiful because of this book.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is a kids book and I’m reading it as an adult I very much enjoyed it! I’ve always loved learning about Irish history as I have Irish heritage and this was such a fun and informative read!

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great horrible histories book.

A great addition to the horrible histories line up. Absolutely loved it. Well worth a read, even if your not a kid ;)

[Cynthia Wei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished this as part of Morning Time with my boys. Not a bad startbut slightly truncated history to suit children’s attention span.

[Il_mare_ghiacciato · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deludente. Forse non ho più l'età per questo tipo di cose. Comunque di storia ce n'è proprio pochina... Letto in una serata.

[George Foord · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting read even as an adult.

[Andrew Macfarlane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shouldn't expect much but even for the Horrible Histories series this was a bit lightweight

[Jasmine D · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great overview of Ireland's history, perfect for kids. Encouraged me to go out and find more on the subject.

[Maria Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Far too sarcastic

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Ireland (Horrible Histories Special)” by Terry Deary, Martin C. Brown (Illustrator)
****
Such a fun way to learn. Did you know?
1800 – Ireland's parliament abolishes itself and all MPs move to London.
1845 – Potato famine cuts the population by over 2 million. (p146)

“In August 1845 a fungus attacked the potatoes and it spread quickly over the country. The potatoes looked all right, but when you pulled them up they were black and rotten inside, and completely useless. People went hungry and began to starve to death...” (p148)

“I tried boiling the potatoes in water. The smell was so bad I wouldn't even allow it to be fed to my pigs.” - Lennox Biggar of Dundalk. (p148)

“We ate the blood from a cow, baked with vegetables or anything we could find. Didd you know that you could take 2 litres of blood from living cow before it falls over?” (p149)

“Sure, we ate the dogs first, then the donkeys ...” etc (p150)

“Fever killed ten times as many people as starvation.” (p152)

“Sixty ships sank before they even crossed the Atlantic. And, when the Irish arrived, they were often unwelcome in Canada and the USA.” (p153)

“The Irish are all furious fools, they have no history of their own worth any notice... Can't someone blow that horrible island up and carry it, a long way off?” - Alfred (Lord) Tennyson (1809-1892) (p156)

“God sent this punishment to the Irish because they are ungrateful, rebellious people.” - British Government minister (p157)
- - -

[Alannah Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, despite living in Northern Ireland and that I studied history, the only thing I really knew was the relationship between Ireland and Britain particularly in the last one hundred years or so. But this book does cover a lot more than that, it also covers Irish culture and more of its Gaelic history.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Horrible Histories is a series of illustrated books published in the UK by Scholastic. They are designed to get children interested in history by concentrating on the trivial, unusual, gory, or unpleasant. They are exceptionally well loved by my history loving children

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun and entertaining read. A very enjoyable way to learn about this topic.

[Csenge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting like the rest of the series. A little more gore and a little less... not gore. Fun read.

[Jenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty interesting

[Toni Pashova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad, little book.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyable and funny!

[Becca Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whilst on holiday to Ireland herself!
As usual with Terry Deary, gruesome hardly child friendly facts dealt with genuinely funny humour and remarkable fun!