Irish History

The first biography of IRA leader Rory O'Connor, close comrade of Michael Collins and Richard Mulcahy and prominent member of the anti-Treaty IRA.The execution of IRA leader Rory O'Connor on 8 December 1922, along with Liam Mellow…

A new book celebrating the achievements of 12 inspirational women who made significant contributions to local government in Cork city was launched recently in Cork City Hall. ‘Leading the Way’ was written by Dr Aodh Quinlivan, Sen…

This captivating book delves into the secretive world of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and its profound impact on Ireland's political landscape between 1914 and 1924. With the aid of new documentation, Ranelagh unravels t…

Ferriter tells the latest chapter in Ireland's story with authority and insight, deftly weaving together economic and political upheavals with equally tumultuous societal and cultural shifts' Financial Times 'Forensic and insightf…

In eighty short essays, historians, folklorists, archaeologists, theologians, anthropologists, poets, novelists, artists, literary scholars, and educationalists explore diverse facets of the experience of childhood in Ireland over…

This fully illustrated and authorised history marks fifty years of one of Ireland’s most ground-breaking and successful theatrical ensembles. Founded in 1975, Druid is a touring theatre company, anchored in the West of Ireland and…

The Croppy Boy Way is a love letter to Cork’s Northside - its people, its stories, and the places that shaped generations. Over seven years, authors Gerry Corbett and the late Jim O’Shea walked the hills and boreens of their commu…

In this unique book, Irish women who stayed living on the island, who did not emigrate, describe their lives and perspectives on a dramatically changed social context from the 1990s to 2023. We hear the women’s voices through O’Ca…

Uncover the gripping narrative of Irish immigrants who transformed America in the aftermath of the Great Hunger. Tyler Anbinder's landmark work exposes the grit and resilience of the Famine Irish, defying hardship to redefine the …

The Turning Tide is a hymn to a sea passage of world-historical importance. Combining social and cultural history, nature-writing, travelogue and politics, Welshman Jon Gower charts a sea which has carried both Vikings and saints;…

Immerse yourself in the rich history and cultural significance of the Irish pub, from its humble beginnings in the 17th century to its modern incarnation as a global phenomenon. This book offers a comprehensive examination of the …

Twelve Paintings is an intimate and compelling exploration of the life and work of the renowned Irish artist Colin Davidson. Structured around a series of deeply personal conversations with the broadcaster Mark Carruthers, the boo…

This groundbreaking study reveals the fascinating international dimension of the Irish Revolution (1919-1923), exploring how a small nation's fight for independence reverberated across the globe. The Irish republican counter-state…

Myths and lies have distorted the truth behind the founding of an Irish state. The struggle for independence was dramatic and dangerous, but there was no outright ‘Irish revolution’ from 1913 to 1927. In this new work from Colum K…

The British Isles hold a unique position in the history of art, a place where local traditions fuse with international ideas in extraordinary ways. At once isolated by coastal boundaries, yet also part of larger networks of divers…

The crown was the symbol of British power in Ireland, and in December 1921 opponents of the Anglo-Irish Treaty claimed that its terms tied Ireland to the Crown forever. The new Irish Free State would be within the British Commonwe…

We walk past remnants of our past every day without noticing. Our ancestors left echoes of themselves all around us, if we only know where to look and how to interpret the signs. These remnants lie all over Ireland, telling us of …

The prospect of Irish unification is now stronger than at any point since partition in 1921. Voters on both sides of the Irish border may soon have to confront for themselves what the answer to a referendum question would mean - f…

Maps allow us to see how the world is organised spatially and show us relationships which cannot be understood from simply reading a text. This magnificent book highlights a vast selection of maps that range across the centuries a…

The story of the grassroots #WakingTheFeminists movement in Irish theater, a campaign that changed how we saw the world and reshaped the future both on and off the stage. When the Abbey Theatre's 2016 centenary program excluded wo…

How do people transform a house or flat into a home that nourishes both body and soul? How do they engage in the alchemy of homemaking? This book focuses a scholarly lens on one homemaking practice, dresser- and delph-keeping in w…

The two opposing political figures that shaped Irish life in the 1980s and beyond. In the 1980s, Irish politics was dominated by a fierce rivalry between Charles J. Haughey and Dr Garret FitzGerald, both leaders of their respectiv…

The head of the Guinness family tells the true story of how his ancestors created the largest brewery in the world. In this narrative non-fiction book, Arthur Edward Guinness, the 4th Earl of Iveagh and head of the Guinness family…

There have been tramways in Britain for 150 years, but it is a story of rise, decline and slow renaissance. Trams have come and gone, been loved and hated, popular and derided, considered both old fashioned and futuristic. Horse t…

Surrounded on all sides by water, Ireland and its people have long been shaped by the sea. Ireland has a rich history of famous – and infamous – mariners: from our earliest navigators, who may have reached North America – by curra…

This book features thirty-eight sites which contain collections of the finest and most interesting - and in several instances, little known - twentieth-century stained glass in Dublin city and county; the majority of the windows w…

Throughout history, the stories of women’s lives and work have been overshadowed by those of men. Wives, especially, disappear, unacknowledged as patrons and champions of their husband’s work, as collaborators, muses, carers and m…

THE NUMBER 1 IRISH TIMES BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 An Irish Times Book of the Year 2024 Ireland is a strikingly different country now to the one it was in the mid-1990s. Dramati…

From the bestselling author Linden MacIntyre comes an engrossing exploration of one of the most significant, but nearly unknown figures of the Irish War of Independence, Sir Hugh Tudor. Appointed by Winston Churchill to lead the R…

Executed by a British firing squad on May 12, 1916, for his role in organizing the Easter Rising, James Connolly was one of the most prominent radical organizers and agitators of his day. As a labor organizer, Connolly stressed th…