The thousand years explored in this book witnessed developments in the history of Ireland that resonate to this day. Interspersing narrative with detailed analysis of key themes, the first volume in The Cambridge History of Ireland presents the latest thinking on key aspects of the medieval Irish experience. The contributors are leading experts in their fields, and present their original interpretations in a fresh and accessible manner. New perspectives are offered on the politics, artistic culture, religious beliefs and practices, social organisation and economic activity that prevailed on the island in these centuries. At each turn the question is asked: to what extent were these developments unique to Ireland? The openness of Ireland to outside influences, and its capacity to influence the world beyond its shores, are recurring themes. Underpinning the book is a comparative, outward-looking approach that sees Ireland as an integral but exceptional component of medieval Christian Europe.
Paralleling his friend Alexis de Tocqueville's visit to America, Gustave de Beaumont traveled through Ireland in the mid-1830s to observe its people and society. In Ireland, he chronicles the history of the Irish and offers up a national portrait on the eve of the Great Famine. Published to acclaim in France, Ireland remained in print there until 1914. The English edition, translated by William Cooke Taylor and published in 1839, was not reprinted. In a devastating critique of British policy in Ireland, Beaumont questioned why a government with such enlightened institutions tolerated such oppression. He was scathing in his depiction of the ruinous state of Ireland, noting the desperation of the Catholics, the misery of repeated famines, the unfair landlord system, and the faults of the aristocracy. It was not surprising the Irish were seen as loafers, drunks, and brutes when they had been reduced to living like beasts. Yet Beaumont held out hope that British liberal reforms could heal Ireland's wounds. This rediscovered masterpiece, in a single volume for the first time, reproduces the nineteenth-century Taylor translation and includes an introduction on Beaumont and his world. This volume also presents Beaumont's impassioned preface to the 1863 French edition in which he portrays the appalling effects of the Great Famine. A classic of nineteenth-century political and social commentary, Beaumont's singular portrait offers the compelling immediacy of an eyewitness to history.
The Great Famine of 1845-9 remains the great climacteric in Irish history. This title contains the first volume in a set of five of reprints of contemporary works relating to the Great Famine, including writings on the medical conditions in Ireland at the time gathered from the "Dublin Journal of Medical Science" and similar publications.
Finding Your Family History in Co. Cork This is the illustrated, book that focuses exclusively on families of County Cork. Part of the Irish Families Project, it includes: Catholic and Protestant; native Irish; settler families from England, Scotland, and Wales; County Map; Coats of Arms; and more.. Information contained here-in dates from the earliest times to the modern era. Expands Upon Earlier Information The Master Volume in the Irish Families series is 'The Book of Irish Families, great & small'. It covers thousands of families from all of Ireland. 'Families of Co. Cork' greatly expands upon the coverage given in that book and adds several hundred new families. In this way both books compliment each other. 'Families of Co. Cork' is the 4th volume in the series, which covers every county in Ireland and Northern Ireland. It was published by the Irish Genealogical Foundation and edited by Michael C. O'Laughlin. An outline of the history of the county as it relates to Irish families, and to Irish research, is included, along with an exhaustive enumeration of thousands of Cork families, sure to help any family researcher. Expanded Information When needed, sources are given for further research. Family castles, dates of occupation and locations are given. Ordinary Cork people, from the 17th to the 19th century are included too. The following is taken from the introduction to this book, and helps set the stage for the family history that follows in the bulk of this work. " The Vikings settled here centuries before the Norman invasion, and are credited with establishing the city of Cork. Their settlement did not lead to the great upheaval that the Norman invasion eventually caused. The Skiddys, Coppingers and Cotters were a few of the 'Viking' families that settled here at an early date, and remained in relative peace. (see surname entries of those families in text of this book). The Norman Invasion Robert Fitz-Stephen and Miles (Milo) de Cogan were granted the entire kingdom of Cork in 1177 by King Henry II. (This did not include however the city and land belonging to the Ostmen, also called Danes or Vikings.) Cork lands could only be taken slowly at first by the Normans. Many Anglo-Norman families and their retainers (undertakers) had to be settled here for that purpose over time. Large tracts of land were held by many of these families subsequently, including the Carews, De Courcys, Fitzgeralds and Barretts. Sir Richard Boyle, who became the Earl of Cork, helped with the plantation of many English here. They were 'settled' in direct opposition to the old Gaelic families native to the land, who stood to lose their homes, lands, and power. Many battles were fought and much blood shed on both sides of the line, which at times became blurred. Castles were numerous and often necessary to protect life and limb. " Families with major entries in this book include: Mc Auliffe; Barry; Callaghan; Mac Carthy; Coppinger; Mac Cotter; Courcy deCourcey; O Crowley; O Daly; O Donovan; O Driscoll; Herlihy; Hyde; O Keeffe, O'Keefe; Lane; O'Leary; Long; O' Mahoney; Nagle; Reardon; Regane; Roach; Sheehan; O' Sullivan; Sweeney; Twomey and Walsh, Welsh....and so on..... There are too many name to display here!
Medieval Ireland is often described as a backward-looking nation in which change only came about as a result of foreign invasions. By examining the wealth of under-explored evidence available, Downham challenges this popular notion and demonstrates what a culturally rich and diverse place medieval Ireland was. Starting in the fifth century, when St Patrick arrived on the island, and ending in the fifteenth century, with the efforts of the English government to defend the lands which it ruled directly around Dublin by building great ditches, this up-to-date and accessible survey charts the internal changes in the region. Chapters dispute the idea of an archaic society in a wide-range of areas, with a particular focus on land-use, economy, society, religion, politics and culture. This concise and accessible overview offers a fresh perspective on Ireland in the Middle Ages and overthrows many enduring stereotypes.
Vols. for 1871-76, 1913-14 include an extra number, The Christmas bookseller, separately paged and not included in the consecutive numbering of the regular series.
