A Traveller's History of Ireland

by Peter Neville, Denis Judd (Editor), Scott Hall (Illustrator)

A Traveller’s History of Ireland gives a full and accurate portrait of Ireland from its prehistory right up to the present. The story opens with mysterious, early Celtic Ireland where no Roman stood, through Saint Patrick’s mission to Ireland which began the process of making it “an island of saints,” to the legendary high King Brian Boru and his struggle with Viking and Irish enemies alike. It moves on through the arrival of the Norman “Strongbow” in the twelfth century, and the beginnings of the difficult and tragic Anglo-Irish relationship. Great historical figures like Hugh O’Neill, Oliver Cromwell, and Jonathan Swift figure, as well as ordinary people like the Londonderry “apprentice boys” who helped change the course of Irish history. The book then moves into modern times with the great revolts of 1798, the horrors of the potato famine, and the careers of the leading constitutional nationalists, Daniel O’Connell and Charles Parnell. The book ends with a description of modern Ireland, and of its two separate Catholic Nationalist and Protestant Unionist traditions.

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

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Linda Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was going to be a travelogue, but it turns out to be a straightforward, if abridged, history of Ireland. No matter -- I learned a lot from it. Possibly its best feature, aside from the pen-and-ink drawings, is its gazetteer. If you want a lean, mean history of Ireland, this is a good book.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good information, but confusingly ordered and often lacking in context, making events difficult to differentiate and remember.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has always puzzled me about the blind spots that exist in books about Ireland. I am a great fan of C.S. Lewis, and have appreciated his literature since I was young, and been aware for some time of the influence that has background and childhood in Ireland had on his writing and his imaginative approach to such diverse subjects as medieval literature, science fiction, children's writings, and popular theology. Yet I have yet to find a book on Irish history that mentioned him, even when a great many books, including this one, spend a great deal talking about the cultural figures of Irish history in the 20th century. That said, I did find this book to be a generally good one, even if it had many of the quirks and focus issues that one tends to find regularly in books on Irish history, although this particular book at least manages to balance its attention between Ireland and Northern Ireland in the 20th century and provide a look at more than just the usual suspects in Irish history and that is something. And that is enough to make this book a cut above most Irish history books that I have read, to be sure.

This book is between 250 and 300 pages if one includes supplementary material. After a preface the book begins with a look at Irish history from Tara to St. Patrick, when Ireland enters the realms of history proper (1). This is followed by a discussion of early Christian Ireland (2) as well as the coming of the Vikings and their mixed influence on the island (3). After this comes a look at the period from Brian Boru to Strongbow where Irish division became a decisive problem (4), followed by a discussion of the Norman invasion that led to a permanent English presence in Ireland that continues to this day (5). There are chapters on the Anglo-Scots War and the statues of Kilkenny (6), the Gaelic revival and the wars of the roses (7), the Tudor conquest (8), the time from Rathmullan to the Boyne (9), the Protestant ascendancy (10), the rise of Catholic Nationalism and the famine (11). After this comes a look at Parnell and Home Rule (12), the Orange revolt (13), the period of independence and civil war (14), Northern Ireland up to 1973 (15), the transition from Free state to republic and Ireland's turn towards Europe (16), and contemporary Ireland (18). This is followed by a list of rulers and monarchs, a chronology of major events, suggestions for further reading, a historical gazeteer, and an index.

One of the ways in which this book succeeds well is its balance of topics. Having seen books on Irish history that have the majority of their coverage in recent history, this book is a far better one in terms of its historical coverage in that the midpoint of this book occurs around the beginning of the Protestant Ascendancy in the late 17th century, a much better point given the natural bias of source availability and awareness on the part of the author to slant coverage to more contemporary subjects. This is all the more remarkable given that the book focuses considerably little attention on the myths and legends of prehistorical Ireland, making this a genuinely historical work that still manages to have a lot to say about medieval Ireland, a fascinating and worthwhile area to study that expresses the way that Ireland's division both aided and frustrated efforts at centralized control on the part of the English and then served as the basis of later divisions like religion that inflamed an already dangerous situation. The end result is a work that is easy to appreciate and one that is deeply informative to the reader, even if it is not quite perfect at least by my own lights.

[Katherine Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot of political history in a very dry manner.

Also, the Irish were originally considered, referred to, by the British in terms that sound much like what I've read about how the British felt about Africans they captured for enslavement in the americas. That was odd, and actually says a lot about how deeply white people distrust others, even "white" others. I am thinking hard about that the more I read. It is a key to obtaining true peace and freedom for all.

I found the Historical Gazetteer in the back of the book a bit more engaging as it describes places of historical interest in various cities across Ireland.

I would love to hear an audiobook version to hear how the place and people's names, as well as other common words are pronounced.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a nice, not overly taxing overview of Irish history. It goes way back and it's fairly hard to keep track of ancient and medieval Ireland. I'd probably start with a history of Ireland that starts after Cromwell. Or maybe with the Great Hunger.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit pedantic at times yet a very helpful history of Ireland. We read before we visited Ireland and found the book very useful. It is short, but the pages ae filled with information and background.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Serviceable overview of Irish history.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was excellent, breaking down a very complex history into digestible, if not comprehensive, bites. I have a much better understanding of timelines and historical figures after reading this book.

[Homerun2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Densely packed with historical information about Ireland.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really want to give this book 5 stars! It was EXACTLY what I was looking for--a brief, comprehensible history of Ireland. However, it would be disingenuous to give it full credit. While I greatly enjoyed the unintentional hilarity of the author's tone (the book was written to be a serious history, but occasionally strayed into biased speculation or references to "the author" or, my favorite, "the author's wife's mother") and feel that I have a much better grasp on Irish history having finished it, it was not the most accurate thing I've ever read. Despite the cover's promise that it is "fully revised and updated," the first 200 pages haven't changed from the 1970s edition I initially checked out of the library, including the misspelling of Silkbeard as "Silkbread"! (Mmm, bread made out of caterpillar spit.) And it's very clear that the last 3 or so chapters have been tacked on in stages and never revised, so that the chapter covering the years 1920 - 1973 make reference to the continuing "troubles" in Northern Ireland, while just a few chapters later the text points out that the whole IRA-being-terrorists thing became very passe after 9/11. So while I greatly enjoyed reading this book and do suspect it's the best short history of Ireland around, I would strongly recommend that someone from Interlink Books actually READ the dang thing cover-to-cover and make sure the chapters are well-edited and have a logical flow to them.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've really liked other entries in this series as a way of getting a fast, high-level overview of the entire history of a country. At their best, they give you a framework to use for further exploration, making events comprehensible and hinting at specific time periods worth further reading. This one was mediocre--it's not terrible, but it's a bit on the repetitive and boring side.

How much of that is a characteristic of Irish history? I'm not sure. The sheer bloody wastefulness of the country's history is appalling. The oppression, the constant warfare, the hatefulness, the ritualistic holding of grudges from literally centuries ago--it's just a never-ending cycle of rebellion, invasion, and retribution. It gets kind of mind-numbing after awhile. So much of the country's energy is spent by being subjugated and trying to resist, and fighting amongst themselves, that they don't seem to ever actually accomplish anything of note. It's an incredibly tragic waste for century after century. But it also makes for some surprisingly dull reading. I do have a better perspective on the Troubles, though, and gratitude that much of it has calmed down in my lifetime. I hope that's a long-term solution, and not merely one of the temporary lulls.

[Mallory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this before my trip to Ireland in March and just finished up now. Be advised - this really isn't a travel guide. If you're looking for a book that tells you where to go and what to see, this isn't it. But if you're like me and wanted to find out more about this fascinating country's long history, it's a good place to start. I also enjoyed reading it after coming home from my trip because it gave me a more interesting perspective on some of the places I'd been and why things are the way they are.

[Joy Weese Moll · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the best book I found for a broad overview to Irish history before my trip. I wish it didn't include the arguments with other historians (what would I know about that if I'm trying to get a quick understanding before my travels?) and that it were more grounded in the localities of the popular tourist spots. More here: Book Review: A Traveller’s History of Ireland.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly concise overview of Ireland's history, from pre-Vikings to the present day. Rather dry, though.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit I never finished the book, but even so I really enjoyed traveling in Ireland having been exposed to the historical/political roots of the land!

[Cris · Rating 2 out of 5]

A moderatly interesting history of Ireland.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Neville gets tripped up by an excess of exclamation points and the want of a glossary, but provides a very readable comprehensive, and relatively impartial history of Ireland.

[Judy Hadley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good to understand the history, but sad to have so many lost opportunities to have peace and cooperation to bring business and growth to the land.

[Bill Hurlbut · Rating 3 out of 5]

Breezes through Irish history, hitting all the highlights (and low). Perfect as an introduction before travelling to Ireland, which is why I read it. Left me wanting to know more about the details.

[Markku · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vähän sekavanpuoleinen ja esim. puolueiden nimiä mainitaan välillä ilman esittelyjä. Ei valokuvia, vain kuvituskuvia. Menettelee kuitenkin johdatuksena aiheeseen.