A Brief History of Ireland (Brief Histories)

A solid introduction to Irish history and an opportunity, for me at least, to expand my vocabulary. The sophistication of the writing did leave me frequently at a loss as to what was meant in some sentences. I also had the feeling that leaps in time were being made, then reversed, before continuing on. This may be more indicative of my level of literary comprehension than the author's errors. The author succeeded in my mind of maintaining a balanced approach to the political disputes in that both sides excesses were covered, and reasons for each sides concerns and grievances stated.I would have greatly enjoyed, and likely improved my comprehension, had the author included maps of the areas being discussed, photos or drawings of major actors, and most importantly a timeline of events to check my comprehension. Additionally, for those of us new to Irish history, a glossary of who the various groups are and what they represented. All of these are frequent omissions in books of history, and have been told by some of the prolific historical writers that such omissions, at least for images, are due to the high costs of preparing or obtaining permission to use images. Their absence is still painfully noted by the reader.

Oh Ireland. I am American and, therefore, was never really educated as to the extent of Ireland's convoluted fascinating history. Ironically, I read the book while visiting Ireland and it became the soundtrack for the experience. There is no question why this gorgeous, mystical green island has been sought after by both conquerers and its own, or why it has produced writers, poets and musicians of such depth and passion. You can feel the inspiration under your shoes. Mr. Kileen does a fine and utterly readable job of conveying Ireland's twists and complexities, century by century, leader by leader, influence by influence. I also happened to be there for the referendum on same sex marriage that was heartily passed in The Republic of Ireland. Amazing to witness the once powerful Catholic Church take a stinging and appropriate defeat. It is clear, in these days, that the institutional church has far less power and influence. A definite contrast to the country's history. I learned many new things such as why land means everything, why the Reformation didn't take in Ireland, and the origin of our word "boycott". A really interesting read.

I'm not Irish but my 90yr old sweet cousin is & at her age she's still living life large, shopping on her own weekly, dressing to the 9's, living with her companion, the most loveable PitBull you'll ever lay eyes on & what truly keeps her active & young is her love for Ireland & everything Irish. A few years ago I found myself at a loss as what to get her for her gifts as she's got everything she 'needs' already. That's when I punched in Irish/Ireland here on Amazon & I hit the jackpot!!! This book she's read a couple of times now & just loves it! There's been journals w/beautiful Irish blessings, Beleek mugs, plates, etc...the possibilities for Irish gifts are endless & it all started with this beautiful book that I'm thinking will be read a few more times before she's had her fill😉.

I read this book before going to Ireland. As we traveled around I found myself referring back to it countless times (I practically re-read the book). I ended up using it more than the Lonely Planet Guidebook which went with us. It's an easy read, gives context to the breadth of Irish history, and well organized and linear.The book starts a bit slow (too much editorial context and given the lack of documentation there's few fascinating tales). However, by the time we get to the Viking invasion, the Normans, and the Protestant Ascendancy, etc., the book finds its stride and balance. Fortunately, because each chapter is sufficiently complete, you can easily treat the individual chapters as stand-alone readings.

I recently did one of those ancestry DNA test. When the results came back I was surprised to learn that I was 60% Irish. This led me to begin a further investigation into my ancestry and I also wanted to read more about Ireland. I knew very little but didn't want to tackle a full blown history text. So when i chose 'A Brief History of Ireland' I was expecting it to be concise. I was not disappointed and it was fun to read about a land that I had no idea I was descended from. I recommend the book for those that don't want an exhaustive history text but want enough information to understand the full history of Ireland.

Even though this book was a very long read, it was well organized and very captivating about the main points of Irish history. I have much Irish heritage in my family, and actually at least half of my heritage is from County Sligo in Ireland, so this book made it very enlightening, to say the least! I had no idea that Ireland was full of such a rich history and civil unrest. It's amazing to me that the country has actually survived all that it has gone through going all the way back to the Celtic era and before.

This is quite a page-turner for a history book. The title sells it short, it's upward of 300 pages, but each one is succinct and attention-getting, the author doesn't get bogged down in academic detail so much that one loses interest. Some reviewers felt there is a bias toward the Republican cause but I don't see this, the book is very even handed in assigning blame to Protestants and Catholics, Unionists and Home Rulers, the IRA and the Black and Tans. My family and I are going to Ireland next month and this book, compared to three or four others I have started but not finished, has given me enough historical context to appreciate more where I'm going.

Author is very familiar with his subject and has made a career of updating and offering a new twist to Irish History with his latest book.Very good read, with only one negative comment for me, who is a novice on Irish history. He was a bit too assumption about the readers previous understanding of all the twists and turns and thus I got lost a few times in his telling.

I’m from Northern Ireland and I bought this book to refresh and broaden my knowledge of Irish history which I last studied at school many years ago. It is an excellent introduction to and overview of the subject starting in prehistoric times and finishing up in 2012. It is well written with an engaging narrative and the author makes astute and perceptive observations throughout. All of the key historical events are covered and there is just enough information about them to enlighten the reader. This book is a perfect springboard for readers who might desire to explore certain aspects of Irish history in more detail as well as for those who want to put current events in Ireland ,North and South,into a broader context. The only criticism I would make of it is that the author comes across as a bit disdainful towards Ulster Protestants and their representatives on occasions, but otherwise excellent.

I didn't expect much but am finding this a very comprehensive well written and engaging book. Hitherto I had read the three volumes of Robert Keys's trilogy but for all its detail he had failed to look at the early history which I have found fascinating. Someone said there was no map but there is so you can locate counties and key places. He makes the important point that all started to go very wrong when Henry V111 became a Prodestant. Excellent book that doesn't lack from being brief, but benefits from it.

Covers thousands of years of Irish history in consolidated form, while also reading like a fluid narrative. Killeen has a very eloquent and articulate writing style, and offers quite interesting insights. His discussion on backward projection onto historical events based on modern social/political agendas was particularly interesting.

Highly readable, fascinating, sometimes desperate story... I only wished that the book had a map to support all the descriptions of counties/towns/ etc since overseas readers are not all familiar with the geography of Ireland.

Great book, very easy to read, for someone that had very little understanding of Irish history this was a very readable book to provide a broad and interesting presenation events very time I would definitely recommend it