ClanDonnell: A Storied History of Ireland

by David K. McDonnell

ClanDonnell is the epic story of Ireland told in a unique way through the lives of the people in Celtic Ireland's McDonnell clan and their descendants into the 20th century. Because the first McDonnells were mercenaries often called to service in all corners of Ireland, the clan's history is intertwined with the history of the entire island.

Descendants of these McDonnell mercenaries included nobles and farmers, landlords and peasants, soldiers and poets, coffin ship victims and survivors, Protestants and Catholics, constables and revolutionaries. Some immigrated to North America and others fought in foreign armies. Many were killed or had land confiscated by the English. Still others adapted well to British Ireland. Collectively, the stories of these McDonnells during critical periods in Irish history tell the story of Ireland.

More than 640 strategically placed images combined with crisp, witty writing make Ireland comprehensible to the non-historian. By the end of ClanDonnell, readers will understand more about Irish history (and more than a wee bit of Irish language and culture) than they likely ever thought possible from a single source.

926 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Abby Schwartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how he wove stories of all the different Donnell clans across Ireland (and Scotland and the world), showing the prominence of the clan and how it related to Irish and world history. It appears to be an extremely well researched book. It mirrors my own quest to learn of my Donnell ancestors. My only beef (and how can I really fault a huge tome for not being bigger?) is that he purposely left out most of the Donnells of Tyrconnell, as not being his direct line. I have the opposite issue, that is the clan I most want to know about! I learned a ton, and he fleshed out stories I had heard bits of before and made them very readable.