# Recommend me a book on Ireland **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401 "2010-05-14T05:50:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/1 "2010-05-14T05:50:13Z")
Does what it says on the box. I’ve recently picked up a yen for learning more about Ireland, both current and historical. I’m wondering if anyone out there knows of some good books to read for that knowledge? I’m looking more for something that’s enjoyable to read than something that will give me every little detail. Of course, if there’s something that’s both, so much the better! ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/2 "2010-05-14T06:10:34Z")
You might enjoy [_Last of the Donkey Pilgrims_](http://www.amazon.com/o/asin/0765309831/mockerybird/ref=nosim). It’s a fun narrative read about a real trip around the island (_all_ the way around, including the North) by an Irish-American in the '70s–plenty of humor, some insight into Irish character, some lyrical portraits of Irish places, and just a few reflections on strife, though it’s not a political book. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/3 "2010-05-14T06:28:41Z")
A good general political history is Robert Kee’s “The Green Flag”. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/4 "2010-05-14T06:36:10Z")
My favorite book ever is **Trinity**. It takes about 150 pages until it begins to get under your skin. Then it just doesn’t turn loose. It is fiction that begins at approximately the time of the Famine. ---
**Author:** ![kbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kbear)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/5 "2010-05-14T07:05:24Z")
I’ve not read his stuff but my Dad really likes Edward Rutherford (Dublin, The Rebels of Ireland, The Princes of Ireland). Although he writes fiction, from what I understand the historical stuff is all there. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/6 "2010-05-14T07:17:19Z")
> [@seosamh](#): > > A good general political history is Robert Kee’s “The Green Flag”. It’s [a great book](http://www.amazon.com/Green-Flag-history-Irish-nationalism/dp/0140291652/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1), but it’s a long and detailed history, maybe not a good _first_ choice for someone looking “more for something that’s enjoyable to read.” For anyone interested in a serious study, yes, it’s essential. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/7 "2010-05-14T12:02:49Z")
Make it a third vote for Robert Kee. And actually, the version I read came in three volumes, in between which I read other things. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/8 "2010-05-14T12:17:29Z")
[Ireland](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Ireland/Frank-DeLaney/e/9780061244438/?itm=2&USRI=ireland) by Frank Delaney might be just what you’re looking for. It’s essentially an Irish history lesson disguised as fiction. The plot revolves around an itinerant Irish storyteller, so you get to “hear” the stories he tells about Ireland’s history. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/9 "2010-05-14T12:20:40Z")
It has nothing to do with Irish History at all, but it is set in Ireland and is more a country doctor yarn [Irish Country Doctor](http://www.amazon.com/Irish-Country-Doctor-Books/dp/0765319950/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273839489&sr=8-1) Totally enjoyed the two books and see that a third one is out. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/10 "2010-05-15T22:06:52Z")
You could try [A History of Ireland in 250 Episodes](http://www.gillmacmillan.ie/Ecom/Library3.nsf/0/2D7E083866308B3E8025745F003DDBB6?OpenDocument). ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/11 "2010-05-17T14:10:42Z")
The Sister Fidelma mysteries by Tremayne are not only very good reads but tell you a lot about Dark Age Ireland. Tremayne is a Celtic scholar in his day job and is incredibly well informed about his chosen subject. (Unlike some other historical authors, are your ears burning Saylor?) Sister F is an investigator of murders, the books being who dunnits ,but the books also demonstrate how the Ireland of that time was one of the centers of European learning and culture, rivalling, dare I say it Rome and definitely far above the unwashed Germanics in neighboring England. You will enjoy them and learn without realising it at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![seanchai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@seanchai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seanchai)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/12 "2010-05-18T00:04:37Z")
Malachy McCourt, the brother of the Frank who wrote “Angela’s Ashes”, has a book out called, “History of Ireland”. It’s a place to start. He’s a storyteller, not an historian, mind you - however he sticks pretty close to the facts. Canadian author Will Ferguson has a recent book out called, “Beyond Belfast”, about a walk he took around Northern Ireland. I found it quite readable and it DOES give one an idea why Ulster is the way it is. The better to tempt you - the book has just won the Leacock Medal for Humour! an seanchai ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/13 "2010-05-18T01:20:02Z")
For modern history, there’s James Plunkett’s _Strumpet City_ and its sequel _Farewell Companions_. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/14 "2010-05-18T03:17:29Z")
I learned a few things about 18th-Century Ireland from [_The Widow’s Son,_](http://www.amazon.com/Widows-Son-Historical-Illuminatus-Chronicles/dp/0312944578) by Robert Anton Wilson. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/15 "2010-05-18T12:32:08Z")
[The Great Hunger: Ireland 1845–1849](http://www.amazon.com/Great-Hunger-Ireland-1845-1849/dp/014014515X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274185799&sr=1-2), by Cecil Woodham-Smith. First published in 1962, and still the best book on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-book-on-ireland/539401/16 "2010-05-18T13:09:56Z")
[Rebels](http://www.amazon.com/Rebels-Irish-Rising-Peter-Rosa/dp/0449906825) by Peter de Rosa is a simple account of the 1916 rising. Also worth reading re. the Troubles is [Bandit Country](http://www.amazon.com/Bandit-Country-IRA-South-Armagh/dp/0340717378/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274187252&sr=1-1) by Toby Harnden. I read one about an INLA/MI6 double agent, which was fascinating and shocking - both in revealing the inner workings of the early Provos and INLA, and how MI6 handled its informers - but can’t remember the title of the book. Not about Ireland per se, but concerned with the terror campaign in the UK, _Miscarriage of Justice_ by Chris Mullin is an interesting (and scary) book about what led the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four to be imprisoned but I think it’s out of print. For reasonably contemporary non-political travel books, [Round Ireland with a Fridge](http://www.amazon.com/Round-Ireland-Fridge-Tony-Hawks/dp/0312274920/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274188118&sr=1-1) by Tony Hawks is a hilarous account of a comedian’s dare to hitchhike the entire perimeter of the island - with a fridge. But my favourite travel book is [McCarthy’s Bar](http://www.amazon.com/McCarthys-Bar-Journey-Discovery-Ireland/dp/0312311338/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274188034&sr=1-1), by the late Pete McCarthy, which is a truly wonderful and affectionate portrait of the country and its quirks.