Who's Feckin' Who in Irish History

by Colin Murphy, Brendan O'Reilly

Did an Irish monk discover America? Which rebel died of having a feckin’ tooth pulled? And who in the name of Jaysus was responsible for the Pledge? If you've ever wondered how much of our rabble-rousing history is true, and how much a load of wojus oul' bull, then look no further. From the great to the gormless, this book is a hilarious parade of the life stories of Ireland's favourite heroes and gougers. Gathered in a collection of the best anecdotes from our chequered past, it will tell you everything you need to know about our writers, revolutionaries, and rogues. You never know - it might help you win the odd pub quiz as well...

The Feckin' collection returns with a funny, original and quirky take on some of Ireland's most famous faces! Illustrated with photographs and cartoons, the book covers key Irish figures across the millenia like:

William Butler Yeats - Nobel Prize winning poet
Saint Patrick - Patron Saint of Ireland
Sir Ernest Shacklton - legendary Antarctic explorer
Jonathan Swift - the man who wrote Gulliver's Travels
Grace O'Mally - the pirate queen who ran Queen Elizabeth's troups ragged
Brian Boru - the last High King of Ireland
And many more!

Genres: Nonfiction, Irish Literature, History, Ireland

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 2014

About the author

Colin Murphy is the author of The Most Famous Irish People You’ve Never Heard Of and co-author of the bestselling ‘Feckin’ collection (The O’Brien Press). His début historical novel Boycott (Brandon) was published in 2012 to great acclaim.

Reviews

[Aoife · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from O’Brien Press in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a perfect read for anyone looking to learn a little bit more about Irish history - the names we learn in history books growing up, and the ones we don’t.

This book is both informative, and pretty funny, and some of the cheeky observations about certain people and the feelings about them in current Ireland had me chuckling a lot. The addition of some humourous illustrations were also great.

I personally would have liked a little bit more female figures, though I do understand that there’s not as much known about them, and this is stated in the book as well. But some figures like Kathleen Clarke (the first female Lord Mayor of Dublin) and Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, a prominent Irish suffragette, and Winnie Carney, one of the last women to leave the GPO during the 1916 Easter Rising, were all missing and definitely deserved a place. Even Aoife MacMurrough could have received her own entry, apart from her brief mention in her father’s due to her marriage to Strongbow.

[Katrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

i'm a big fan of celtic heritage, mythology and history and thus deeply sympathise with all celtic nations and their trials and fights, scotland, wales, ireland. i bought this book during my recent trip to dublin and wales and it has been awesome. reading it in the aeroplane first had me burst out with laughs and giggles. i must say that the second half of the book is not as funny as the first, also due to the grave nature of the stories in the 20th century. still i realised that i did not know enough about irish history and this helped immensely, even with a tongue in cheek. a great way to get to know ireland's past trials and terror, without dry history book character but a hearty laugh here and there. really happy i picked this one up!

[Keith Beasley-Topliffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, the 2nd word in the title is used as an adjective, not a verb. It is also a promise of a light tone to the whole undertaking of telling the stories of about a hundred famous Irish men and women from the last 16 centuries. There are chieftans and saints, but the bulk of the book is about the 19th and early 20th century struggle for Irish independence (with a fair amount of overlap in telling stories of folks who worked/fought together). Along the way, we also meet a few writers (Joyce, Wilde, Synge, and others). My wife and I read the book to each other, alternating chapters, during a recent trip to Ireland, and found it a pleasant and informative way to wind down before bed. The author has many more “feckin’” books about Irish history and culture.

[Darren Corcoran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really funny book detailing notable characters from Irish history. How Grace O'Malley doesn't have a film or TV series about her I'll never know