A Short History of Ireland

by Sean McMahon

Ireland is often in the news; since the IRA ceasefire in the autumn of 1994, whe has become the focus of worldwide attention. Only now can one sense an international recognition of the complexity of Irish problems and the beginnings of understanding. The answer to Ireland's difficulties lies in the future, but that future cannot be understood without reference to the past when the seeds of trouble were sown. This concise account gives the history of Ireland since the earliest times. The heroes and villains are there, the former perhaps not so heroic, the others less evil than tradition has painted them. Based upon up-to-date research, the book covers fights and famines, country and town, Protestants and Catholics, Rome Rule and Home Rule, Church and state, and brings the account right up to the autumn of 1995 and the end of the first year of peace in Northern Ireland. Sean McMahon is the author of "The Best from the Bell", "A Book of Irish Quotations", "Rich and Rare" and "The Homes of Donegal".

Genres: History, Ireland, Nonfiction, Irish Literature, Travel

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Sean Sexton · Rating 1 out of 5]

read this book hoping that it would give me a nice overview of Irish history. The problem is that this is basically a pretty dull book. I would have thought that a topic like the history of Ireland would be a pretty tough one to turn into something so dry. But McMahon manages to turn a thrilling topic into something that will put you to sleep. In addition to being so dreary, the book didn't drastically increase my understanding of Irish history.

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m putting this book at my bedside, for the times I have trouble sleeping. It should work wonders, as it put me to sleep even while I was having a coffee.

[Kelly Stalions · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had a Masters degree in History--Irish History--maybe I could have understood and enjoyed this book. A "short" history of Ireland? Then why did it take me a few weeks to trudge through it?!? I only gave this 2 stars instead of 1 because it may be me that's the problem and not the book. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know about Ireland. The history of a foreign country beginning centuries ago...so boring and confusing! I did more skimming than reading in some chapters. I'm planning on reading a coffee table Irish History book next. One with pictures!

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author presumes the reader has some knowledge of Irish history. References to people, places, and events are not explained. I spent as much time looking up more information online as I did reading the book.

[rinabeana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read this because it was available in ebook format from my library. It was not the short, but informative book I had hoped for. Pompous tone, written for those with fairly extensive knowledge of Irish history.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars - this read very much like a first draft and would have benefitted from some rigorous editing. I frequently found myself having to re-read a previous sentence in order to figure out which historical figure McMahon is referring to as many sentences were structured in confusing, unclear ways that makes for an unnecessarily strained reading experience.

Stylistically, the way in which the information is presented is very dry and inaccessible unless you already have very intricate knowledge of Irish history, which seems to defeat what I would assume was the purpose of this book.

However, I did enjoy aspects of the earlier chapters covering the arrival of Christianity, Viking raids and the geopolitics of medieval Ireland as these were aspects of our history that were very much glossed over at school in favour of events from 1798 onwards. I definitely learned some interesting points that have been inexplicably relegated to footnotes in Irish history and for that, I must give McMahon kudos. I just would have liked for it to have been presented in a more engaging way, hence the 2.5 stars.

[Michal Paszkiewicz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have never read such a short book that could be so immensely dense with little nothings.

I do not feel much more educated about Ireland, but at least I now have a printed list of people who ruled in Ireland I can find books on using google.

[Louisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This read more like an English history of Ireland and was incredibly male-centric. Also impossible to understand without more background on Ireland.

[Brandon Pytel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my fourth or fifth book on Irish history, and it just doesn't work. I picked it up at a local bookstore, because I thought what could it hurt to read a complementary history book before my next trip to Ireland, and it just goes to show you that history books are truly made by the writer.

The book starts clearly enough with the ancient history of the island, the invasions of the vikings, and its eventual Christianization. But it just so clearly fails in its ability to hash out the tenuous relationship with the Brits and I think most damning, it assumes too much of its reader.

Names and places are thrown around like we’re expected to know them, which just isn’t proper form for a book like this. The author fails to aid the reader by providing additional context or commentary on the significance of events, instead allowing them hang there like an objective encyclopedia — good for one medium, but not for this.

It turned into an absolute chore to read the last 120 pages or so (mind you, this was only 200 pages long) and really tested my commitment to finishing books that I start. Everything is relative, and this is certainly the case here: Other Irish history books show you that you can present facts in engaging, entertaining, and rewarding fashion. That is not the case here.

[Dean Glover · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite an informative history of the country, and a challenge at certain points where I had to review the history to which the author referred. Well worth the time spent.