Irish History Books

Jenn

Jenn

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Can anyone recommend any objective books/ documentaries on the political history of Ireland? My Grandad has traced his family on his Father's side back to Ireland and also with the current political situation in the UK- the probable alliance between the Tories and the DUP, I would like to try and learn about Irish history.
 
'The Great Shame' by Thomas Keneally recounts some of the stories of the political prisoners and their transportation during the 19th century. One of my ancestors fled Ireland during the potato famine when the population of Ireland halved so I was interested in reading up about it as well.
 
Hello Jenn, how far back do you want to go? Legend has it that Ireland's first kings were descended from the daughters of Hezekiah, a king of Israel, who lost his own life and that of his sons, way back when. You can read about it in the Bible. Apparently Hezekiah's daughters were rescued by a priest, Jeremiah, and eventually found their way to Ireland via a brief sojourn in Egypt, and settled in a place called Tara, the name of one of them, probably the one who married the local king called Fergus.

The stone of Scone, was believed to be the stone on which Jacob laid his head and dreamed of angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven. Anyway, this same stone was a witness to the coronations of all the kings of Ireland until the stone was taken to Scotland whereupon all the Scottish kings were crowned upon it.

The stone was taken to England by James VI and I, and all the kings and queens of England were crowned upon it, up to Elizabeth II. The stone was in the Coronation throne.
Recently, the stone was returned to Scotland. I wonder who will be the next king/queen, and will they be Scottish?

As for more recent Irish history, the place where all the Births Deaths and Marriages were stored was burned to the ground, and all those records were lost, so you might come to a point from which you cannot proceed.

Good luck in your searching.
 
Hey Jenn, I began exploring more of my Irish heritage in recent years. It is fascinating. With the likely Tory/DUP alliance it is important to look at the history as you say. I don't have any specific books to recommend as such but these SOTT articles may interest you.

https://www.sott.net/article/245044-The-British-Empire-A-Lesson-In-State-Terrorism

https://www.sott.net/article/315505-Irish-Soviets-1919-23-a-forgotten-chapter-in-Irelands-war-for-independence

https://www.sott.net/article/293934-Happy-St-Patricks-Day-The-Irish-Holocaust-an-untold-history-lesson


Although not documentaries I would recommend these films.

Michael Collins (https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/ft7/Michael-Collins-DVD-Liam-Neeson/B00004CX8H/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1497165546&sr=1-1&keywords=michael+collins)

Laura provided a link (https://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,664.0.html) to a website which may interest you: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/ireland-1845-to-1922/michael-collins/

The wind that shakes the barley (https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Wind-That-Shakes-Barley/dp/B000XSNCCW)
 
Hi Jenn, many of my ancestors are Irish as well. Personally, I found a great starting point to re-connect was finding the early Irish hero/god, Lugh.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugh

The shining brow. Despite England's nasty propaganda campaign for centuries to promote the opposite, I think the Irish have driven for sovereignty. I did not fully understand the meaning of that word until I explored Irish history. Lugh is the original guarantor of sovereignty.

Also during the so called "Dark Ages", a great mind arose from Ireland that synthesized Platonic thought, Apostolic redemption and a cosmology based on universal ethics in his work De Divisone Naturae.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Scotus_Eriugena

Although the Mabinogion is written in Welsh, I think the mythology and narratives are shared by the pre-Anglo-Saxon people that recount tales of a culture that included Ireland as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabinogion

For more current history, there are a number of articles on Sott.net that cover the conflict between England and Ireland since the 1600's. That relationship is a blueprint for imperialism and colonialism that exists to this day.
 
Thank you Beorn I will check out "the great shame".

Music Man, I was thinking a little more recent history, not that what you have described isn't fascinating, but I'm more interested at the moment in the Irish Holocaust, how the British came to be in Ireland in the first place, the IRB, IRA, Sinn Fein and the DUP and the British involvement with the IRA. I found these articles on SOTT this morning to add to Anam Cara's list:

1993 Belfast bombing blamed on IRA was actually carried out by British intelligence agent
Northern Ireland: More evidence of MI5's network of informers and provocateurs in the IRA
States' terrorism: FBI supplied IRA with weapons and explosives in 1980s

Thanks for the recommendations Anam Cara, I have watched the Michael Collins film and thoroughly enjoyed it. I watched part of this documentary I found on youtube: Michael Collins - Ireland's Greatest which describes Collins' journey to become a revolutionary.

I also found this podcast which is an interview with Chris Fogarty, which then reminded me that SOTT did an interview with him also: Behind the Headlines: Ireland's Holocaust - Interview with Chris Fogarty
 
When the Irish luck Ran Out might be interesting to you. check the amazon reviews. I started it years ago, and never finished. It not a difficult book at all, in fact quite entertaining and a good introduction to the modern republic ( it was the first I read about Ireland ). it wasn't exactly what I was interested in at the exact time, but I kind of would like to pick it back up thinking about it!
 
Jenn said:
Thanks for the recommendations Anam Cara, I have watched the Michael Collins film and thoroughly enjoyed it. I watched part of this documentary I found on youtube: Michael Collins - Ireland's Greatest which describes Collins' journey to become a revolutionary.
Click to expand...

Hi Jenn,

on top of the 2 movies mentioned by Anam Cara, I would also recommend these:

In the Name of the Father, "based on the true life story of the Guildford Four, four people falsely convicted of the 1974 IRA's Guildford pub bombings, which killed four off-duty British soldiers and a civilian"

Jimmy's Hall, by Ken Loach. "The film tells the story of the deportation to the United States in 1933 of Jimmy Gralton, who led the Revolutionary Workers' Group, a precursor of the Irish Communist Party, in Leitrim".
 
Hi Jenn, that's a pretty broad period of history you mention, with many, many books on those topics. One that I feel confident recommending for the more recent 'Troubles' history is 'Lethal Allies' with Anne Cadwallader. We have an interview with her here

https://www.sott.net/article/301871-Behind-the-Headlines-British-Terror-in-Ireland-Interview-with-Anne-Cadwallader

Martin Dillon's 'The Dirty War' is a pretty famous one

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dirty-War-Martin-Dillon/dp/0099845202/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497217657&sr=8-1&keywords=dirty+war+ireland

Ten Men Dead: The Story of the 1981 Hunger Strike is a good one for an insight into the hearts and minds of members of the IRA

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ten-Men-Dead-Hunger-Strike/dp/0586065334/ref=pd_sbs_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=7TADWJ5KSGBH6C3NVNP8

There's also a pretty good fact-based fiction book by Leon Uris called "Trinity" which gives a good longer term background to the Irish-English issues.

I could go on but I'll stop there! Oh, and you might want to check out the movie 'The Wind that Shakes the Barley' if you haven't already. It deals with the Irish civil war after the Easter rising and provides a glimpse into the politics in Ireland that fueled the civil war, including (given the time it occurred) the role of Communism and Bolshevism and Socialism.
 
Jenn said:
I was thinking a little more recent history, not that what you have described isn't fascinating, but I'm more interested at the moment in the Irish Holocaust, how the British came to be in Ireland in the first place, the IRB, IRA, Sinn Fein and the DUP and the British involvement with the IRA.
Click to expand...

This must be the Corbyn Effect! Hail Jezza!

I recommend that you start with Tim Pat Coogan's books. I've read The Famine Plot: England's Role in Ireland's Greatest Tragedy and Michael Collins: A Biography by him. But he has many books on all the big topics:

https://www.amazon.com/Tim-Pat-Coogan/e/B000APC2BA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Pat_Coogan

As you can see on his Wiki page, the worst criticism of him is that he doesn't go into enough details, which means he's your man if you want the basic story! The best criticism of him is that he writes from a nationalist perspective, which means you're getting the true story.

Another movie to throw into the mix is Hunger:

 
Jenn said:
Thank you Beorn I will check out "the great shame".

Music Man, I was thinking a little more recent history, not that what you have described isn't fascinating, but I'm more interested at the moment in the Irish Holocaust, how the British came to be in Ireland in the first place, the IRB, IRA, Sinn Fein and the DUP and the British involvement with the IRA. I found these articles on SOTT this morning to add to Anam Cara's list:

1993 Belfast bombing blamed on IRA was actually carried out by British intelligence agent
Northern Ireland: More evidence of MI5's network of informers and provocateurs in the IRA
States' terrorism: FBI supplied IRA with weapons and explosives in 1980s

Thanks for the recommendations Anam Cara, I have watched the Michael Collins film and thoroughly enjoyed it. I watched part of this documentary I found on youtube: Michael Collins - Ireland's Greatest which describes Collins' journey to become a revolutionary.

I also found this podcast which is an interview with Chris Fogarty, which then reminded me that SOTT did an interview with him also: Behind the Headlines: Ireland's Holocaust - Interview with Chris Fogarty
Click to expand...

Jenn,

When I read your question, this interview came to my mind immediately. I'm glad you found it. Since listening to his recount of what was genecide not a potato famine as we have all been taught, it has never left my mind. ( I think I'll check out his website.). I suppose because I have Irish ancestry but have also had an intense interest or felt an Irish influence over me that I could never explain or relate to current life connections. As an 11 year old, my grandmother took me to England to visit her relatives but I said I would go only if we went to Ireland too. Which we did but what a brat. Hope you find many Irish history sources that expand your knowledge of your heritage and the current world situations.
 
Hi Jenn,

Jenn said:
Music Man, I was thinking a little more recent history, not that what you have described isn't fascinating, but I'm more interested at the moment in the Irish Holocaust, how the British came to be in Ireland in the first place,
Click to expand...

As another who shares your interest in Irish History [due in part to a best friend named Padraig Pearse :)], I also always found the Northern / Ulster region particularly fascinating.

And I have been told that she [E'ire] always calls to her descendants.

And in light of the subject matter discussed on this Forum, you may enjoy this?

https://apollosolaris.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/irelandlandofthepharoa0hs.pdf

From the Introduction -

'' One of the saddest lessons of history is this:

If we have been bamboozled long enough,
We tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle.
We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth.
The Bamboozle has captured us,
It’s simply too painful to acknowledge,
Even to ourselves,
That we have been so credulous.

Carl Sagan.''

Best Regards

J
 
Hi Jenn, that's a pretty broad period of history you mention, with many, many books on those topics. One that I feel confident recommending for the more recent 'Troubles' history is 'Lethal Allies' with Anne Cadwallader. We have an interview with her here
Click to expand...

Yess I think I was a little ambitious with such a broad time period. Thank you all for your recommendations, I will endeavor to work my way through the suggested books and movies :)

This must be the Corbyn Effect! Hail Jezza!
Click to expand...

Corbyn strikes again! If Corbyn hadn't got so many votes then the Tories wouldn't have had to form the alliance with the DUP, and I don't know if I'd would of made the time to research the history in more depth.
 
Joe and Niall, have you guys read this book? If what it says is true, and it has a reasonable as well as testable theory, it could heal the Protestant/Catholic beam in everyone's eyes which I think was spread to the USA a couple of centuries ago and now threatens the planet. It basically claims that William the Conqueror and King James II participated in an ancient Egyptian ritual at the so called Battle of the Boyne including a map of the Boyne Valley and a star map of that day. It's very plausible in explaining brave King Jame's strange behaviour and how he became known as the "grand old Duke of York". I was curious as to why William's wife, who was Jame's daughter, allied herself against her father. Apparently they did it to protect our Protestant heritage, or right to religious tolerance and a personal relationship with God.

It suggests that Noah's ark was possibly the Boyne valley or connected with it. That the ancients built Newgrange and left evidence of their knowledge of genetics in the mound, which he explains quite well. I think it really needs to be read and analyzed:

https://apollosolaris.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/irelandlandofthepharoa0hs.pdf
 
You mean William of Orange, right?
 
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