Pre-Norman History Archives - Page 6 of 8

The Ancient World of the Celts, Peter Berresford Ellis. (Constable, £25) ISBN 0094787204 Ancient Ireland: Life Before the Celts, Laurence Flanagan. (Gill and Macmillan, £16.99) ISBN 0717124347

Those of us who desire to know about the past are served by many people and groups: researchers, teachers, writers, and not least by publishers—without whom the thoughts of historians would be limited to their classrooms. And it is as a reflection on this group, and how they serve us, that I have chosen to … Read more

The Oxford Companion to Irish History, S.J. Connolly (ed.). (Oxford University Press, £25) ISBN 0-19-211695-9

The presentation of Irish culture as a commodity has developed into a remarkable world-wide phenomenon in recent years. The success of Irish writers, musicians and dancers on the global stage continues to surpass all expectations, and shows no signs of abating. In Ireland itself, the latest economic boom (however selective), combined with the evolving peace … Read more

The Making of Ireland, from ancient times to the present, James Lydon. (Routledge, £45 hbk, £14.99 pbk) ISBN 041501347X, 0415013488

James Lydon has undertaken a daunting task in writing a history of Ireland from ancient times to the present. It is difficult to cover the broad sweep of history in any detail and too easy to include chronological description instead of analysis or explanation. Yet the author has risen to the challenge admirably and not … Read more

Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape, F.H.A. Aalen, Kevin Whelan and Matthew Stout (eds). (Cork University Press, £35) ISBN 1-85918-095-7

Among the various terms applied to works of reference, ‘atlas’ has now become the most user-friendly, more companionable than ‘companion’ and certainly less repellent than ‘dictionary’, ‘directory’ or ‘encyclopaedia’. To match its changing semantic context, the typical modern atlas has fewer and simpler maps than its mid-century predecessors; it also has more non-cartographic illustrations, especially … Read more