“All changed, changed utterly: / A terrible beauty is born,” wrote Yeats in one of the most powerful political poems of the 20th century, Easter, 1916.
The elegiac masterpiece simultaneously mourns the loss of life and collective violence of the infamous Easter Uprising, while drawing attention to the melancholic beauty of Irish rebellion.
The poem also draws on elements of the Celtic revival with subtle references to the folkloric, living and breathing nature of the Irish landscape. It’s why this quote, even in isolation, serves as a brilliant reflection of Irish history in its totality: famine, war and bloodshed mingled with the birth and rebirth of the nation.
Throughout the poem, Yeats zeroes in on intimate portraits of typical Irishmen and women while creating a panoramic sociopolitical view of the country. This is something that writers like Yeats, Joyce, Beckett and Lady Gregory were particularly brilliant at, and it’s one of many reasons why a fascination with the bloody yet beautiful history of Ireland endures.
In perhaps the most famous of the Dubliners stories, ‘The Dead’, Joyce writes, “snow was general all over Ireland […] His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe […] upon all the living and the dead.”
The symbolic ephemerality of the snow in this story – intrinsically beautiful yet representative of death – covers not just Ireland but the entirety of the universe. Though it is a small nation, Irish history is a synecdoche of a universal, fighting spirit. The islands of Éire shroud itself and its immortal inhabitants in a blanket of cool snow: protective, temporal, comforting and mournful.
From the origins of the Irish language to intimate, personal histories of Ireland’s darkest periods, these are some of the best books about Irish history. Discover the context behind your favourite pieces of Irish literature and poetry below.
Modern Ireland 1600-1972 by R.F. Foster
Originally published in 1988, Professor R.F Foster’s history of modern Ireland examines how recent events have come to shape the ‘Irish Nation’ that we know today. Rather than presenting us with facts alone, Foster weaves a fascinating narrative which details the significant events of the last four centuries that have shaped its people.
Buy now £13.43, Amazon
We Don't Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Ireland Since 1958 by Fintan O’Toole
O’Toole’s personal history of Ireland begins the year that he was born, 1958. It is the story of how the author’s life coincided with the greatest series of changes in Irish history, and the power of memory in shaping collective identity. Anyone wishing to comprehend the sociological anatomy of contemporary Ireland simply must read this book.
Buy now £10.75, Amazon
An Unconsidered People: The Irish in London by Catherine Dunne
A common theme throughout contemporary Irish literature – contrary to the supporters of the Celtic revival – is the notion that to be successful, one must leave Ireland. Indeed, in the 1950s, half a million Irish men and women left Ireland to make lives for themselves elsewhere. One of these elsewheres was England. In An Unconsidered People, Dunne delves into the Irish immigrant’s experience in London through a series of wonderfully vibrant interviews.
Buy now £10.69, Amazon
Making Sense of the Troubles: A History of the Northern Ireland Conflict by David McKittrick and David McVea
Fully revised and updated since its publication over two decades ago, Making Sense of the Troubles does exactly what it says on the tin. Written by Belfast-born David McKittrick and teacher of Northern Irish history, David McVea, the non-fiction work traces the roots of the Troubles from the 1920s, the violence of the 1960s and the three decades of destruction which followed.
Buy now £13.45, Amazon
Milkman by Anna Burns
This celebrated work of psychological historical fiction by Anna Burns takes place during the troubles in Northern Ireland. We follow the life of an unnamed 18-year-old protagonist who is simply referred to as “middle sister” and the harassment she endures at the hands of “the milkman”. The story draws on themes of hearsay, silence and the consequences of inaction.
Buy now £6.53, Amazon
The Good Friday Agreement by Siobhan Fenton
The Belfast Agreement, otherwise known as The Good Friday Agreement, was signed on April 10, 1998, and brought an end to the decades of violence that had engulfed Northern Ireland. While the agreement was largely lauded as an admirable peace accord, Siobhan Fenton re-evaluates the highly volatile nature of the ‘peace’ that this historical event brought. The author re-evaluates the history and legacy of The Good Friday Agreement, analysing its successes and failures in poignant, clear and concise detail.
Buy now £8.33, Amazon
War and an Irish Town by Eamonn McCann
Another highly personal history of the Troubles, Eamonn McCann’s War and an Irish Town was first published in 1974 and covers the story of his childhood as a Catholic growing up in a Northern Irish ghetto. The book is widely considered a fascinating reference point for the Northern Irish perspective on British rule, and how Irish nationalism turned violent.
Buy now £19.99, Amazon
The Graves are Walking by John Kelly
Though the exact number is unclear, it is estimated that approximately one million people died from starvation in Ireland between 1845 and 1851 while a further one million people emigrated. This resulted in Ireland losing a third of its population.
John Kelly retells the gruesome story of the famine which represented one of the 19th century’s most devastating disasters, which began with a bacterial infection on the potato crop on which the impoverished depended, and which was made all the worse by the brutality of British rule.
Buy now £11.75, Amazon
Emigrants and Exiles: Ireland and the Irish Exodus to North America by Kerby A. Miller
Drawing on an immense trove of personal research, Miller delivers a fascinating insight into the emigration of the Irish to America both before and after the famine, and the resulting complicated culture of exile.
Buy now £21.99, Amazon
A Short History of the Irish Revolution, 1912 to 1927: From the Ulster Crisis to the formation of the Irish Free State by Richard Killeen
Beginning with the Ulster crisis of 1912 and the Home Rule Act of 1914, Killeen traces the complicated history of the 20th-century Irish Revolution through the outbreak of the First World War, the Easter Rising of 1916 and beyond. The author writes of how, despite the establishment of two states on the island, the Ulster problem has never truly been resolved.
Buy now £10.19, Amazon
The Faithful Tribe: An Intimate Portrait of the Loyal Institutions by Ruth Dudley Edwards
Edwards explores the seemingly anachronistic habits of the Orange Order, the conservative, British unionist and Ulster loyalist organisation based in Northern Ireland in her non-fiction book The Faithful Tribe. Founded in Country Armagh in 1795, the Orange Order takes its name from the Dutch-born protestant king William of Orange who defeated the Catholic King James II in the Williamite-Jacobite war of the 17th century.
Considered a trusted and well-liked sympathiser (and criticiser) among Orangemen despite being a Catholic from southern Ireland, Edwards delivers a fascinating portrait of the loyalist institution.
Buy now £20.00, Waterstones
Atlas of Irish History by Sean Duffy (third edition)
Offering a brilliant cartographic history of Ireland in just 144 pages, Sean Duffy’s Atlas of Irish History is one for visual learners. Supported by concise, didactic explanations, it’s a best-seller for a reason. The newer, revised edition covers the boom and bust of the Republic’s economy and the political developments in Northern Ireland which resulted in the coalition between DUP and Sinn Féin.
Buy now £18.99, Waterstones
The Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish History
Scholars would be remiss not to add The Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish History to their personal libraries. The 800-page textbook offers discussions on a multitude of important events throughout Irish history, as well as easily digestible excerpts of some of the most respected scholarly works on each topic.
Buy now £32.49, Waterstones
The Táin: Translated from the Old Irish Epic Táin Bó Cúailnge by Ciaran Carson
Understanding Irish history requires an investigation into the nation’s literary past. The Táin, or Táin Bó Cúailnge is often referred to as the Irish Iliad and is the centre of the eighth-century Ulster Cycle of heroic tales – a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas.
Translated from Old Irish, the epic is set in the first century AD and tells the tale of a war against Ulster incited by Connacht queen Medb and her husband Ailill. The duo plot to steal the sacred Brown Bull of Cualige. The hero of the story is Cuchulainn, the Hound of Ulster.
Buy now £8.40, Amazon
Irish Fairy Tales and Folklore by W.B. Yeats
This beautifully bound hardback is a collection of Irish fairy tales and folklore written by the fierce proponent of the Celtic Revival, W.B. Yeats. The volume contains over 70 classic Irish stories including The Trooping Fairies, Changelings, Tir-na-n-óg and more.
Buy now £10.99, Waterstones
Ireland's Forgotten Past: A History of the Overlooked and Disremembered by Turtle Bunbury
Bunbury delves into the often forgotten elements of Irish history such as the distinct lack of Roman invasion in Ireland, the King of Spain giving his name to an Irish county, and the unexpected historical impact of brandy. Enjoy an impressive 36 lesser-known tales in Ireland's Forgotten Past: A History of the Overlooked and Disremembered.
Buy now £9.08, Amazon
The Celts: A Very Short Introduction by Barry Cunliffe
The Oxford University Press ‘Very Short Introduction’ series is a brilliant, concise way of digesting historical facts which are intended for all audiences and written by experts in the field. In The Celts, Barry Cunliffe offers insight into the fascinating world of the Indo-European people including stories of St Patrick, Cú Chulainn (The Ulster hero), and Boudica.
Buy now £7.79, Amazon
A History of the Irish Language: From the Norman Invasion to Independence by Aidan Doyle
A scholarly investigation into the history of the Irish language from the Norman Invasion in the 12th century right up to Independence in 1922, linguists will rejoice for this fascinating treatise which combines political, cultural and linguistic history.
Buy now £23.45, Amazon
Listen to the Land Speak (Hardback), Manchán Magan
In this work of historical non-fiction, Mangan weaves his way through the myth and folklore that has risen out of the ancient worship of nature. Taking us on a journey across Irish history, Manchan illustrates the power of myth in shaping an entire nation, and its people.
Magan’s novel is published by Gill & Macmillan, which was founded in 1968, and is responsible for the dissemination of the work of many great Irish writers, including Maureen Gaffney, Tom Garvin, Fintan O’Toole, and Éamon de Buitléar, to name but a few. As such, you can be sure that you’re in for an instant classic.
Buy now £21.99, Waterstones
