A History of Ireland

by Peter Somerset Fry

Starting in about 6000 BC, Peter Somerset Fry and Fiona Somerset Fry present a concise and enjoyable history of Ireland taking the story up to the 1980s. 'A welcome introduction. - Belfast Telegraph

Genres: History, Ireland, Nonfiction, European History, Historical

380 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1988

Reviews

[Michael N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy, conversational read but definitely not an in depth study. This is one of those "casual histories" that are so easy to read, give one enough to use as a conversation point, but little more.

[Mary Ellen]

This book provides a brief history of Ireland in 340 pages. It is clearly written and, though footnoted and bibliographed, aims as the everyday reader. Its chief drawback is its age - published in 1988 by Barnes & Noble; a lot has happened since then to make the final chapters rather out of date.

[Peter Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A basic introductory text book of Irish history, which to be fair is what I was looking for when I bought it. The authors come at the subject with a clear assumption that English motives were generally pure - where things go wrong for the Irish it is either the result of individual bad actors or accident rather than the English actively seeking to exploit an oppressed colonial people. The authors also really like Gladstone. But if you approach it with a critical eye, covers the basic overview of Irish history.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readable history of Ireland. It stops in the 70's so can't focus on present. Worth reading

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A SHORT history of Ireland covering about 8,000 years in 340 pages!

Not exactly packed with details, but it's indexed and has enough references and descriptions of key people and events to provide a good starting point for further reading. My edition was published in 1993 by Barnes & Noble and it doesn't appear to have been updated since the first edition in 1988; it still ends in the early 70's, with no updates on the modern "Troubles" in Northern Ireland. If your interest is in anything later than the 60's, you need to look elsewhere.

[CD · Rating 2 out of 5]

This history of the green isle is both broad and narrow in coverage. The depth of the work is eclectic in what the authors have chosen to delve into thoroughly such as the beginning with the variety of ancient tombs and the peoples they built them. Other eras and topics do not receive equivalent coverage.

The most important element to this book is the emphasis is the duration of Irish history. That elements of civilized behavior, such as forts, tombs, and a rudimentary at least social structure has been around for over 7000 years is the best part of the work.

Alone this book barely rises above a tourist guide, except in those moments where it dives off into greater details.

Only moderately well written and not a captivating read. Deserves more than two stars but not three.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst authors I have encountered. Thank goodness this was free

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. A cursory and, perhaps, a bit pro-Irish history. It stops in the 1970's, so not a good source of information about current events.