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The Darkness Echoing: Exploring Ireland’s Places of Famine, Death and Rebellion
The Irish Times Top 10 Bestseller!From war to revolution, famine to emigration, The Darkness Echoing travels around Ireland bringing its dark past to lifeIt's no secret that the Irish are obsessed with misery, suffering and death. And no wonder, for there is darkness everywhere you in cemeteries and castles, monuments and museums, stories and songs. In The Darkness Echoing, Gillian O'Brien tours Ireland's most deliciously dark heritage sites, delving into the stories behind them and asking what they reveal about the Irish.Energetic, illuminating and surprisingly funny, The Darkness Echoing challenges old, accepted narratives about Ireland, and asks intriguing questions about Ireland's past, present and future.'My history book of the year' Ryan Tubridy'As thought-provoking as it is informative and entertaining' Irish Times'Hugely enjoyable, thought-provoking and informative ... An essential read' History Ireland
363 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 24, 2022
"A nuanced understanding of the past ensures that we do not accept the present with passivity. Our museums and heritage sites should hold up a broken mirror to the past, one in which we see many splintered reflections." (O'Brien, pg 332)
O'Brien does an excellent job of holding up a "broken mirror" to Irish history as portrayed in the many museums and sites she visits, critiquing what's emphasized and what's left out, and the sometimes skewed rhetorical impact of the combination. What she dubs "the misery tour" becomes, not exactly miserable for the reader-- she's too good a writer for that -- but somewhat mind-numbing, reminding me of an old joke among Classics scholars regarding The Iliad: "Oh, what, another boulder?" She is nothing if not thorough, but her wit and storytelling skills, regarding her own family, especially her infinitely patient if weary husband, who accompanies her every step of the way, as well as Irish history, kept me engaged. I thought I had a more than fair understanding of Irish history, but I learned a lot I'd either missed or forgotten. Read this book and you'll probably never tour a museum or historical site without considering not just the what but also the how, learning as much about the curators as the topic. And that's a good thing in these days of constantly contested interpretations of the past.
She closes with with this resonate line from Sean O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock: "It's nearly time we had a little less respect for the dead, an' a little more regard for the living."
Amen to that.
O'Brien does an excellent job of holding up a "broken mirror" to Irish history as portrayed in the many museums and sites she visits, critiquing what's emphasized and what's left out, and the sometimes skewed rhetorical impact of the combination. What she dubs "the misery tour" becomes, not exactly miserable for the reader-- she's too good a writer for that -- but somewhat mind-numbing, reminding me of an old joke among Classics scholars regarding The Iliad: "Oh, what, another boulder?" She is nothing if not thorough, but her wit and storytelling skills, regarding her own family, especially her infinitely patient if weary husband, who accompanies her every step of the way, as well as Irish history, kept me engaged. I thought I had a more than fair understanding of Irish history, but I learned a lot I'd either missed or forgotten. Read this book and you'll probably never tour a museum or historical site without considering not just the what but also the how, learning as much about the curators as the topic. And that's a good thing in these days of constantly contested interpretations of the past.
She closes with with this resonate line from Sean O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock: "It's nearly time we had a little less respect for the dead, an' a little more regard for the living."
Amen to that.
February 21, 2022
What an enjoyable read. I loved the warmth and accessibility of this book as O'Brien describes her jaunt around Ireland's museums, the big, the small and the - seemingly - inconsequential. She has a great sense of humour and is not afraid to gently criticise. Actually, her writing style reminded me of Bill Bryson. Her honesty and thoroughness as a researcher is confirmed when she relates but then spurns fantastic oft-repeated stories that have been created by enthusiastic tour guides etc. I learned lots of Irish history almost accidentally. Undoubtedly, my enjoyment was heightened by the fact that I've written children's novels about three of the historic episodes (Titanic, Siege of Derry and the Battle of the Boyne) she described and am working on one that she devoted a thoroughly interesting chapter to.
It was also fascinating to read about museums and the work, and the tensions, that goes into producing one. A really interesting and compelling read, I highly recommend it to anyone with any kind of interest in Ireland's history.
It was also fascinating to read about museums and the work, and the tensions, that goes into producing one. A really interesting and compelling read, I highly recommend it to anyone with any kind of interest in Ireland's history.
November 27, 2020
A brilliant book! As someone who works in Irish heritage and tourism I loved this book and it’s take on the sector as a whole. More importantly, as a massive fan of dark tourism I found the author highly relatable and humor is while delivering brilliant snippets on Irish history that even a person with zero Irish history knowledge could grab ahold of. Buy this book for not only the history-lover in your life, but for a lover of all things macabre!
March 4, 2021
l found this book difficult to characterise, is it a review of museums and heritage sites, a critique of the representation of Irish history or a sort of travelogue? lt is an easy read and gives quick summaries of different parts of Irish history. After a while though l found the author's constant negativity towards museums a bit weary. l enjoyed reading her families history and connections to major events like 1916. The both is worth a read and is a good gateway to discover more abour Irish history.
October 25, 2022
This book promised to be about Ireland's obsession with death. It started with an account of the author's grandmother's own obsession with her own funeral, but needed more accounts like this. It is primarily a history of places around Ireland: prisons, battle fields, small museums with themes including The Famine, Emigration, and Death. The writer is a historian and the biggest contribution of this book may be her suggestions for museums to improve their appeal and relevance.
January 5, 2021
“The Darkness Echoing” charts historian Gillian O’Brien’s quest to explore Ireland’s ‘Dark Tourism’ sites; that is, those ostensible tourist attractions set up to communicate Ireland’s history of war, famine, death, and misery. Part-historical analysis, part-travelogue, “The Darkness Echoing” sees O’Brien surveying the dark sites that comprise such large parts of Ireland’s heritage and tourism sectors – and that are invariably based around well-worn themes of Irish history such as “conflict, incarceration, famine, emigration or death”.
Along this journey, Gillian O’Brien considers Ireland’s seeming morbid fascination with death and melancholy, how we have created a heritage industry which is largely centred around this fascination, and how this “inclination to see shadows, not the sun, is rooted in a bleak past”. While on the one hand “The Darkness Echoing” provides an excellent and comprehensive guide to Ireland’s ‘dark tourism’ sites, it also questions whether these sites – and, indeed, the Irish tourism industry – panders to simplistic narratives of national suffering and oppression.
This would all sound hugely foreboding and onerous were “The Darkness Echoing” not written with such brio and gusto. Gillian writes with a sharp and sardonic style, with a keen eye for the absurdities of the Irish tourism-industrial complex (the placing of a ‘Famine Experience’ tourist trail opposite an Eddie Rocket’s in Kilkenny City being just one example). For what are such weighty subjects (among the chapters are titles such as ‘Maritime Disasters’, ‘Emigration’, and ‘Incarceration), never in a million years would I have expected “The Darkness Echoing” to be so slyly funny and witty.
This is not to say that O’Brien is a heartless or unfeeling writer; it is more that even when investigating the most horrific catastrophes from Irish history (the ‘sleek well-fed famine dogs’ feasting on the flesh of the dead being just one appalling example related in “The Darkness Echoing”) she is aware of the incongruities of the Irish heritage sector. She is also sharply critical of how it can sometimes seem like that sector is in the business of … “the commodification of tragedies for profit”. Most commendably, Gillian O’Brien takes the time to demolish dangerous codswallop such as the ‘Irish Slaves’ myth and she is alert to how narratives of Irish suffering are, if we are not careful, open to exploitation by far-right populists.
If you are looking for a deep-dive on the areas touched on in this book (the 1798 rebellion, the Great Famine, the Plantations and so on), then “The Darkness Echoing” may not provide you quite the detail you are looking for. Having said that, even allowing for the challenges of covering 1,000+ years of Irish history in a relatively short book, I learnt fascinating new facts and background on all these topics from Gillian O’Brien’s highly engaging book. “The Darkness Echoing” is a most welcome contribution to the debates about whether ‘dark tourism’ is a good way for us to remember best, how history and tourism should interact with each other, and the ethics of - as The Sex Pistols put it - “taking cheap holidays in other people’s misery”.
Along this journey, Gillian O’Brien considers Ireland’s seeming morbid fascination with death and melancholy, how we have created a heritage industry which is largely centred around this fascination, and how this “inclination to see shadows, not the sun, is rooted in a bleak past”. While on the one hand “The Darkness Echoing” provides an excellent and comprehensive guide to Ireland’s ‘dark tourism’ sites, it also questions whether these sites – and, indeed, the Irish tourism industry – panders to simplistic narratives of national suffering and oppression.
This would all sound hugely foreboding and onerous were “The Darkness Echoing” not written with such brio and gusto. Gillian writes with a sharp and sardonic style, with a keen eye for the absurdities of the Irish tourism-industrial complex (the placing of a ‘Famine Experience’ tourist trail opposite an Eddie Rocket’s in Kilkenny City being just one example). For what are such weighty subjects (among the chapters are titles such as ‘Maritime Disasters’, ‘Emigration’, and ‘Incarceration), never in a million years would I have expected “The Darkness Echoing” to be so slyly funny and witty.
This is not to say that O’Brien is a heartless or unfeeling writer; it is more that even when investigating the most horrific catastrophes from Irish history (the ‘sleek well-fed famine dogs’ feasting on the flesh of the dead being just one appalling example related in “The Darkness Echoing”) she is aware of the incongruities of the Irish heritage sector. She is also sharply critical of how it can sometimes seem like that sector is in the business of … “the commodification of tragedies for profit”. Most commendably, Gillian O’Brien takes the time to demolish dangerous codswallop such as the ‘Irish Slaves’ myth and she is alert to how narratives of Irish suffering are, if we are not careful, open to exploitation by far-right populists.
If you are looking for a deep-dive on the areas touched on in this book (the 1798 rebellion, the Great Famine, the Plantations and so on), then “The Darkness Echoing” may not provide you quite the detail you are looking for. Having said that, even allowing for the challenges of covering 1,000+ years of Irish history in a relatively short book, I learnt fascinating new facts and background on all these topics from Gillian O’Brien’s highly engaging book. “The Darkness Echoing” is a most welcome contribution to the debates about whether ‘dark tourism’ is a good way for us to remember best, how history and tourism should interact with each other, and the ethics of - as The Sex Pistols put it - “taking cheap holidays in other people’s misery”.
January 28, 2021
I loved this book ! Part history, part travel writing, O’Brien writes about sensitive topics in Irish history with great care and candor, while reflecting deeply on their significance. I greatly appreciate her writing style — her ability to talk about dark events in history and give reverence where due, while at the same time questioning the significance they are given in the story of Irish history as it is told, and highlighting the stories and narratives that are largely ignored. Her sense of humor pulls you along through the darkness and her investigative stance pushes you towards new perspectives on the past. Can’t wait for the next report on her adventures !
April 11, 2022
I really enjoyed this book. The author, an Irish born historian living in England, takes us on a trip around Ireland with some of her family members. The destinations are all places commemorated for the their days of misery, but her writing is lively, funny and warm. Her focus is on accurate, well researched history and the local events that make each destination significant in history and culture. She enjoys lots of tea and scones.
May 7, 2022
I started this thinking it would give me ideas on historical places to visit, but it is so much more than that. In particular it is a great overview of the history of Ireland, and there are fascinating insights into the development of museums and sites. It is really well researched, interesting, personal and funny too.
February 6, 2021
Excellant !
Not a "happy easy history book"!
Not a "happy easy history book"!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2021
A fascinating insight into the Irish obsession with dark heritage but also our own cultural mindset. Should be required reading for anyone interested in museums
July 26, 2021
Brilliant tour of some of Ireland's darker history and places - informative and entertaining. Loved it
July 23, 2023
Sheds a light on the nuances of Irish history and challenges readers to undertake the journey with her without coming across preachy. Poignant while witty.
September 1, 2023
Pretty good with some interesting stories. I would have preferred if it covered less ground and went slightly more in depth on fewer topics.
December 28, 2023
I learned a lot from this book about how countries like Ireland remember and commemorate the past. Excellent read and quite well-written.
October 25, 2024
4,5
very lively exploration of Ireland's relationship with Death.
very lively exploration of Ireland's relationship with Death.
September 14, 2025
This was an interesting book but it wasn’t really what I expected – I wanted a gritty history of Ireland and it’s relationship with death and hardship, but this feels more like a fun, touristy guide to Irelands museums and interesting places.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews