The Making of Ireland: From Ancient Times to the Present

Over the last 10,000 years, Ireland has been a destination for many peoples, including Gaelic-speaking Celts, Britons, Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, and Normans. Each of these peoples has left its trace on modern Irish culture, from the Christianity of the Briton St. Patrick to the language of the Elizabethans; each has contributed its share of confusion to the still-open question of what it means to be Irish. Lydon, a professor of history at Trinity College, describes the many streams that flow into the course of Irish history, describing cultural misunderstandings and ethnic rivalries that have long pedigrees and that continue to inform Irish politics, and tracing such events as the Flight of the Earls, the Anglican ascendancy, and the emergence of the Irish Republic in the early 20th century. --Gregory McNamee