Great Irish Speeches

by Richard Aldous, Colm Tóibín (Foreword)

A stirring anthology of 50 speeches — eulogies and damnations, new beginnings and last words, threats of war and demands for peace — that have shaped Irish history  Fifty of the most stirring and memorable speeches in Irish history are collected here — from the political oratories of Charles Stewart Parnell, Michael Collins, and Eamon De Valera to emotive addresses by the nation’s celebrated poets, writers, and musicians. All of the included speeches have had a remarkable impact on the course of Irish and world history. The oratorical skills of the greatest names in Irish politics and culture are Henry Grattan, Daniel O'Connell, Charles Stewart Parnell, Michael Collins, W. B. Yeats, Eamon de Valera, John F. Kennedy, and Seamus Heaney, to name but a few. Each speech is preceded by an introduction, which places the address in context and underlines its historical significance, as well as an iconic photograph of the speaker. Presented chronologically, the collection provides tremendous insight into Irish history.

234 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2007

About the author

Richard Aldous, the author of The Lion and the Unicorn, is Eugene Meyer Professor of British History and Literature at Bard College. He has been a fellow at the Royal Historical Society, a trustee of the Gladstone Library, and advisor to the British Council, and commentator for the Irish Times and the BBC.

Reviews

[Hannah]

This is a great book. It's 50 speeches complete with a mini-biography for each person. It's not the entire speech but just the key snippets. They follow the historical timeline of Ireland and you go through the fights for independence, the formation of the government, and others. Each speech is small, but very powerful.

If you are interested in Irish history, this is the book for you.

[Stephen McCarthy]

An interesting way to travel through the history of Ireland.

[Ronan Doyle]

Rating, of course, reflective of compendium itself rather than its constituents; grateful to have fifty influential insights so neatly packaged—as much as, inevitably, I might dispute some inclusions—but Aldous' editorial intros are as lacking in linguistic flair as they are any insight beyond bare essentials. If that latter point seems harsh it's only born out of disappointment, given the strength of Colm Tóibín's stage-setting foreword; the former point bears evidence aplenty in ludicrous lines like "Dukes was not father to the emerging 'Celtic tiger', but could justifiably claim that he opened the door at the maternity hospital for the expectant mother". What lumpen platitudinal nonsense, justly exposed as such by the rich rhetoric it's so often disserving.

[Khalid]

provides a crash course in modern Irish history giving samples of changes and obstacles that faced the Irish republic. Many speeches reflected the important role of religion in the day to day life of the Irish people. The religious establishment influences the careers of government officials.

[Niall]

No man has the right to fix the boundary to the march of a nation. No man has a right to say to his country "thus far shalt thou go and no further"