A Short History of Ireland

by John O'Beirne Ranelagh

This is an updated edition of John O'Beirne Ranelagh's short history of Ireland, covering the full sweep of Irish history from the earliest times up to President Clinton's second visit to Ireland in 1998, in the wake of the Omagh bomb and the surrounding peace initiatives. Throughout, the author's aim is to cast light on the people and the events that have contributed to present-day Irish society, in both North and South.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ireland

338 pages, Paperback

First published June 23, 1983

About the author

John O’ Beirne Ranelagh is a television executive, producer, and author of history and current politics. Born to an Irish father, James O’ Beirne Ranelagh, who was in the IRA in 1916 and later fought on the Republican side in the 1922– 24 Civil War, and an American mother, Elaine Lambert Lewis, who became the noted author E. L. Ranelagh, John Ranelagh was born in New York and moved to rural Ireland following his parents’ 1946 marriage. He read Modern History at Christ Church, Oxford, and later obtained a Ph.D. at Eliot College, University of Kent.

Reviews

[Joy Hermans · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a very interesting book to get acquainted with Irish History, but it's not an "history" book in the sense that it's purely descriptive and lack a critical analysis. It's a good book to learn in great lines about important events in Irish History, but it only scratches the surface of it. But considering the book's title it's only fair.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously as an historical overview of Ireland from the neolithic period until today, this is not the most detailed and thorough history ever written, but with that in mind this is a very good history of Ireland. The book is broken up largely in chronological chapters, with the most chapters and detail focused on the 19th and 20th centuries--particularly the Famine and the build up to Irish independence. Then the last two chapters present the history of the Republic and Northern Ireland respectively since the partition.

The book has generally good detail, providing a lot of information about the political, military, and colonial history of Ireland throughout time. However, this is definitely not a social history or anything like that, so while there are brief discussions of the status of women, or changes in labor, and so on, most of the history is political, martial, and about English/British colonialism.

[Karen Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short history, but it was easy to get bogged down in all the detail of government elections, cabinets, etc., that occurred in the 1900s. I'm currently reading a historical fiction series on Ireland that spans the 1900s, so it was interesting to read the actual history and compare to the series for historical accuracy. I will say that this particular book needed a better proofreader - too many places had some very glaring punctuation and word placement errors, which I found very distracting.

[Diem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shelving this one after 3 chapters. Not because it isn't incredibly well-written and informative. It is both of those things. It just turns out that a textbook isn't quite the light hearted summer read you'd think it would be. Will pick it up again later.

[William Shep · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best one volume histories of Ireland. Entertaining and, while not glossing over Ireland's many difficulties, does not wallow in them either.

[Jim Hanks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good brief history of Ireland. If you want more detail, get a bigger book.

[Al Capwned · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're not irish and you want to have an overview of the whole history of Ireland, this is the perfect book for you.