In Search of Ancient Ireland: The Origins of the Irish from Neolithic Times to the Coming of the English |
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In Search of Ancient Ireland: The Origins of the Irish from Neolithic Times to the Coming of the English
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by Carmel McCaffrey
Sales Rank: 150259
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Discount: 32 %
List Price: $16.95
$11.53
At Amazon
on 6-21-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 304 pages
Published by: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher September 25, 2003
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 156663525X
ISBN 13 Number: 978-1566635257
Book Dimensions:
8.7 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
Weighs: 15.2 ounces
BostonIrish.com
…An illuminating look at new finds and scholarship…. Deft and meticulously researched prose … brings ancient Ireland to vivid life.
Virginia Garnett in Carroll County Times
A great story, interesting to read and appealing to anyone with an interest in IrelandA readable historypoignant, not pedantic.
Reader Reviews
In this popular history, the neglected pre-Christian roots of Irish culture are explored, as well as the early medieval period up to the Anglo-Norman invasions. I enjoyed the authors' incorporation of weather catastrophes, tree-ring dating, metallurgy, and archeological scenarios that enlivened the first part of the book. In my opinion, this area could've gained much more in-depth treatment, as the later, post-Patrician era has been done to death repeatedly. But I admit I learned more here than from Thomas Cahill's book, and in a much more stimulating context. The Bronze Age clarified, the myth of the Celtic invasions faded, and the appeal of the Beaker Folk widened. Now finally I know how copper was discovered, too! Also, in later periods, as with their explanation of potentially soporific subjects like the Eoganacht rivalry with the Ui Neill, the tensions behind Brian Boru's struggle to regain sovereignty, the Viking-Irish uneasy contest and co-existence, and the legends of Patrick and why the northern powers at Armagh propagandized his cult, McCaffrey and Eaton present dramatizations effectively, and not having seen the PBS/RTE videos, I imagine these emerge even more vividly on screen. For many raised on pseudo-Celtic, often 19c-originated founding myths of supposedly Irish lore, the findings here -- reminding me of historical criticism and how it overthrew earlier readings of the Bible in the 19-20 c's -- will be revelatory. My disappointment lies in the two authors' lack of footnotes. Although a bibliography is given, the absolute lack of following up many of the co-authors' assertions makes this a book that cannot satiate the curiosity of those readers eager to delve further into specific topics raised. While the scholars active in the making of the videos are credited in the preface and in the text when interviewed, their ideas are not necessarily those that the authors use for all of their own assumptions. The lack of follow-through here that would and should have linked the authors with their oral and printed primary and secondary sources diminishes the value of an otherwise promising overview of the pre-1171 period. Still, given the dearth of non-"magickal" and non-academically oriented books introducing readers to this period, it's a worthwhile -- if less than ideal -- survey of early Irish history.
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In Search of Ancient Ireland: The Origins of the Irish from Neolithic Times to the Coming of the English
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Price: $11.53
Updated on 6-21-2008.
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