Irish History For Dummies

Description:
A rip-roaring ride through the history of the Emerald Isle, Ireland's story is an amazingly dramatic and intense one - and today the influence of Irish culture can be felt around the globe. This book helps you find out why, taking you on a rollercoaster journey through the highs and lows of Ireland's past including invasions, battles, executions, religious divide, uprisings, emigration - and Riverdance! Mike Cronin is a lecturer at the Centre for Irish Programmes, Boston College, Dublin. He has written 5 books on Irish history. You can discover: when and how Ireland became Celtic, Ireland and Britain's complex relationship, the evolution of Irish culture, how Irish emigration has affected the world, and Northern Ireland's rocky road to peace.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. Part I: Saints and Kings: Ireland's Early Years. Chapter 1: No Man Is an Ireland. Chapter 2: The First People Arrive. Chapter 3: The Early Irish Kings. Chapter 4: Snakes Alive! Christianity Comes to Ireland. Part II: The Normans Are Coming! The Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. Chapter 5: The Vikings Arrive First. Chapter 6: Irish vs. Norman Invaders ... But Who's in Charge? Chapter 7: Boy Meets Gael: The Norman-Irish Alliance. Part III: The Invading English Kings: The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. Chapter 8: The Scottish-Irish Rebellion and its Aftermath. Chapter 9: From Richard II to Henry IV: More Turmoil in Ireland. Chapter 10: Family Feuds I: The Wars of the Roses. Part IV: Religious Wars and Family Feuds: The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Chapter 11: Popes vs. Archbishops: The Reformation and Ireland. Chapter 12: Religious Roundabouts and Irish Rebellion. Chapter 13: James I and the Plantations; Charles I and Chaos. Chapter 14: Family Feuds II and III: The English Civil War, then William and James. Part V: Catholic and Protestant: The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Chapter 15: Going Irish? Grattan's Parliament and Wolfe Tone's Rebellion. Chapter 16: Going British: The Act of Union. Chapter 17: Three Strikes for Irish Independence: O'Connell, Davis, and Mitchel. Chapter 18: The Great Hunger and the Land War. Chapter 19: The Fight Over Home Rule. Part VI: Divided in Two: Life from the 1880s. Chapter 20: Balls and Books in Irish: The Cultural Revival. Chapter 21: Fighting Against Britain: The Revolution. Chapter 22: One Land, Two Systems: Partition. Chapter 23: Troubles Begin Again ... And Maybe Finish. Part VII: The Part of Tens. Chapter 24: Ten Top Turning Points. Chapter 25: Ten Major Documents. Chapter 26: Ten Things the Irish Have Given the World. Chapter 27: Ten Great Irish Places to Visit. Chapter 28: Ten Irish People Who Should Be Better Known. Index.

Author Biography:
Mike Cronin studied history at the University of Kent and at Oxford, and has taught history to university students for the past fifteen years. He has published widely on the history of Ireland, and also on the history of sport. His books include a history of sport and nationalism in Ireland, a jointly authored history of St Patrick's Day celebrations around the world, and a general history of Ireland. He is currently the Academic Director at Boston College's Centre for Irish Programmes in Dublin, and is researching the history of major public spectacles and festivals in twentieth century Ireland.