Irish women and nationalism: soldiers, new women and wicked hags Louise Ryan and Margaret Ward (eds) (Irish Academic Press, €25 paperback) ISBN 0716527677This book explores Irish women’s engagement with nationalism from a variety of perspectives, including history, sociology, cultural and language studies, law, anthropology and community-based research. The editors, Louise Ryan and Margaret Ward, who … Read more
Ireland: a social and cultural history, 1922–2002 Terence Brown (Harper Perennial, €15) ISBN 0007125761For this third edition of his enormously influential survey of the social and cultural history of independent Ireland, Terence Brown has brought us up to the year 2002. This is an interesting development, for it involves the chronicling of the culture wars … Read more
Ireland and Scotland: culture and society 1700–2000 Liam McIlvanney and Ray Ryan (eds) (Four Courts Press, €55) ISBN 1851828753 When Dominic Behan penned his little ditty ‘The sea, oh the sea, grá geal mo chroi, Long may it roll between England and me. God help the poor Scotsman, he’ll never be free. Thank God we’re … Read more
The Flight of the Earls John McCavitt (Gill and Macmillan, €12.99, £9.99) ISBN 0-7171-3936-0If an academic historian wanted a subject that might reach out to a readership beyond his peers it would be hard to think of a better story than this. For a popular audience this skilfully written book is a rollicking good read, … 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