The Irish Difference: The Story of Ireland's 400-Year Journey to Independence

by Fergal Tobin

A fascinating and entertaining investigation into what makes Ireland so different from its neighbors, by a respected Irish historian.

For hundreds of years, the islands and their constituent tribes that make up the British Isles have lived next door to each other in a manner that, over time, suggested some movement towards political union. It was an uneven, stop-start business and it worked better in some places than in others. Still, England, Wales and Scotland have hung together through thick and thin, despite internal divisions of language, religion, law, culture and disposition that might have broken up a less resilient polity. And, for a long time, it seemed that something similar might have been said about the smaller island to the Ireland.

Ireland was always a more awkward fit in the London-centric mini-imperium but no one imagined that it might detach itself altogether, until the moment came for rupture, quite suddenly and dramatically, in the fall-out from World War I. So, what was it - is it - about Ireland that is so different? Different enough to sever historical ties of centuries with such sudden violence and unapologetic efficiency. Wherein lies the Irish difference, a difference sufficient to have caused a rupture of that nature?

In a wide-ranging and witty narrative, historian Fergal Tobin traces the relationship between Ireland and her neighbors, taking in everything from sports and culture to religion and politics, and reveals what it is that makes the Irish so different.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics

320 pages, Paperback

Published June 20, 2023

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at Irish history from the arrival of the Normans to the creation of the Irish free state/Republic of Ireland 🇮🇪 and its relationship with England and British Isles

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the back cover of this book the question is put:

'For hundreds of years, the islands (of Britain and Ireland - Liam) and their constituent tribes...have lived next door to each other in manner that, over time, suggested movement toward political union...no one imagined that the smaller island...would detach itself...until the moment came for its dramatic departure.

'So, what was it - is it - about Ireland that is so different? Different enough to sever historical ties of centuries with such sudden violence and unapologetic efficiency?'

That is exactly what Fergal Tobin attempts to illuminate and explain with remarkable success and a very amusingly light touch. Anyone wanting an introduction of remarkable concision to the history of Ireland since the Reformation could do no better then read this book.

He packs a great deal of history, politics, culture and sociology into 280 pages and manages not to be either dull or pedantic. Do I agree with everything? Of course not but there are no great howlers and my disagreements are ones of emphasis and maybe interpretation. But his main thrust of trying to explain why Ireland was, and is, different is both cogent but also possibly more relevant in its application then might have first appeared. The genesis of the book was the Brexit vote that took the UK out of EU and the almost complete absence of interest, concern, knowledge or discussion of the huge problems the UK's removal from Europe would pose for the UK in general, and the constituent part of the UK that is Northern Ireland (please see my footnote *1 below).

So the book attempts to explain why Ireland was never successfully integrated into the United Kingdom and why the UK was never actually very interested or concerned with Ireland.

A fine introduction to a complex problem which should wet anyone's appetite to learn more.

*1 I live in London and can attest to the almost complete absence of mention, never mind consideration of the problems, that the UK's insistence on 'hard exit' would have in Northern Ireland nor that it would undermine the international treaties and agreements underlying the Good Friday Agreement which ended the Northern Ireland 'Troubles' and potential reignite that bitter conflict. The insouciance with which the Conservative government both threatened the peace of Northern Ireland and then effectively abandoned the 'precious Union' (one of the fatuous descriptions to emerge from PM Teresa May's failed negotiations to solve the self created nightmare Brexit threatened to create) could only be viewed by many Irish people with a combination of schadenfreude and sympathy for the way Ireland's 'Loyalists' who were being forced to realise that their 'loyalty' had never been appreciated never mind wanted.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fergal Tobin’s book is an exploration of why Ireland could never be peacefully absorbed into the United Kingdom in the way that Wales, Scotland and, indeed, England were. Tobin begins by distinguishing between three types of British settler in Ireland – the old English, being the Norman settlers from the 1100s, new English – being Elizabethan adventurers and settlers from the 1600s, protestant and the backbone of Dublin Castle administration, and the Creoles, being the settlers that followed Cromwell from the 1650s onward and were the basis of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy. He identifies 2 key inflection points in Irish history. The first is Henry VIII’s reformation (You can talk of your protestant minister/ and his church without meaning or faith/ but the cornerstone of his temple/ is…) and, crucially, the failure to extend it to most of Ireland. The second is the famine, which made Irish reconciliation to English rule impossible. Tobin interweaves among these key pillars the histories of the intervening years. The rebellions, like those of Silken Thomas, the Desmonds, the O’Neill in 1603, 1798. The failure of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy to provide national leadership and its demise at the Act of Union in 1800. The Cromwellian land settlement and its unravelling in the land acts of the late 1800s culminating in its destruction by Wyndham’s Act of 1903. And more.

It’s a superb book full of striking insights and confident observations. Unlike so much of Irish history, Tobin is unsparing in his assessments and has no time for sentimental indulgence. He is utterly uncompromising in his assessment of the importance of Catholicism to Irish identity and the importance of violent revolution and his book is wonderfully devoid of the usual hand-wringing and cringing that marks commentary on these questions. A stirring history of the country, essential reading. Throw your Fintan O’Toole out the window and buy this.

[Aleš Pitín · Rating 4 out of 5]

64/∞

‼️ The Irish Difference: The Story of Ireland's 400-Year Journey to Independence by Fergal Tobin ‼️


Rating: click on the link below to see how der Kaiser 👑 has rated this book


📚 Length: 320 pages
🔊Audiobook: 8 hrs and 45 min

Why you should read this book?

💡 To develop your understanding of distinct Irish culture.
💡 To learn about 'the tyranny od distance.'
💡 To see what implication had the Great Famine on today’s Ireland.

My very first encounters with Irish happened in Wales. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Back then I thought that everybody living in the UK 🇬🇧 is English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, but then there was this girl who worked with me at the bar… I cannot recollect her name. When there was Brexit, she deleted me off her Facebook, because I said in a FB post that all British are cunts for betraying and leaving the EU. Life. 🤷‍♂️ She said she is Irish, I believe she said somewhere from Belfast. Anyway, all I remember from talking to her is that she said there are no jobs in Northern Ireland and the only way to make was to leave and go to the UK. The first hand Irish dream I would call it. Then I haven’t heard about Ireland for years. In Germany at the university, I met two girls who were studying German there. That was shock for me, British are usually not bothered to learn second or third language, unless they are children of immigrants and their excuse is that they are 'bad' when it comes to languages. As you can see my initial judgment of Irish was very 'British centric' and I was presuming that all the inhabitants of the British islands are the same or at least very similar. My surprise was that the Irish were alright with studying foreign languages. I was also told by one of these Irish girls that the weather in Ireland is very different to the one on the Continent. In Ireland it rains a couple of times a day even when it is summer and even when it is sunny and you are leaving your home. So you always better take your goddam umbrella with you and your raincoat. After that I visited Ireland once. But I went only to Dublin and it was… meh… 😬 Shit weather, loads of homeless and expensive. I did not get to know the country properly, until I moved there for my masters couple of years later and then I got a slightly different picture of what Ireland actually is. Now, that was the reason why I read this book, because I wanted to fill some gaps in that picture.

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[Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because the author assumes you already know a lot about English and Irish history -- which I don't! -- this won't be the easiest history book you'll ever read... although it might still be the most erudite and charming.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Densely written and not so accessible for people who are not familiar with the history of the Republic of Ireland, however, the book does contain some interesting insights and take aways, even if not all insights are understandable to a broader audience

[Anne Foley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very intelligent but humorous trip along the path to independence. I really enjoyed it.