The first edition of the Atlas of the Irish rural landscape (1997) was immediately hailed as a classic. For its time it was a ground-breaking publication, featuring a previously unsurpassed array of maps, aerial photographs and detailed explanatory text combining broad overviews of Irish rural settlement with detailed treatments of individual regions. Perhaps unavoidably, the … Read more
The wolf is as rich an image in literature as it is a reality—albeit a persecuted one—in natural history. Invariably featured as a menace in mythology and folklore, the wolf, demon or hero, is a strange and glamorous creature, the enigmatic ancestor of our domestic dog, and still roams Russian Asia, Canada and Alaska.Anyone with … Read more
A New History of Ireland, vol. 1 Prehistoric and early Ireland Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (ed.) (Oxford University Press, €187.40) ISBN 0-19-821737-4Reviewing a book that weighs in at more than 1200 pages and carrying it from office to home reminded me of that North American game of social responsibility in which teenagers are asked to carry … Read more
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
While the title under review hints at a book of limited focus, suggesting a curious blend of archaeology and dilettante history, what we have is an in-depth study more comprehensive than any other work to date. It could be given several titles: ‘a social and economic history of Gaelic Ireland’; ‘law and society in early … Read more