Irish History

The story of the Hales family from Bandon epitomises the whole revolutionary period in Ireland. They were involved from the establishment of the Irish Volunteers in West Cork and were closely associated with well-known revolutiona…

Michael Collins and the Women Who Spied for Ireland is the first book to concentrate on the crucial role played by women in Collins's personal and working life. From his boyhood in an overwhelmingly female household in West Cork, …

From the ordinary to the extraordinary, Casualties of Conflict explores the lives and deaths of over 300 individuals laid to rest in Dublin's iconic burial ground. These men, women and children who perished during the tumultuous y…

The Round Towers of Ireland are among the most enigmatic and extraordinary constructions of the early Irish Church. Why were they put up? What were they used for? Where did the idea come from, and when? Hector McDonnell, one of Ir…

This engaging book traces the history, archaeology, and legends of ancient Ireland from 9000 B.C., when nomadic hunter-gatherers appeared in Ireland at the end of the last Ice Age to 1167 A.D., when a Norman invasion brought the c…

Following independence in 1922, Ireland began to chase a dream: to become the perfect Catholic nation. But purity had a price.Throughout the twentieth century, thousands of women and girls who did not conform the wayward, the poor…

A landmark centenary publication that brings the newly released 1926 census to life through vivid storytelling, expert insight, and stunning visual material.

In June 1631 pirates from Algiers and armed troops of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, led by the notorious pirate captain Morat Rais, stormed ashore at the little harbour village of Baltimore in West Cork. They captured almost all the…

East Cork was a particularly violent area during the War of Independence with many IRA ambushes and attacks on Crown Forces. The first major success nationally for the IRA was the capture and destruction of Carrigtwohill RIC Barra…

It is little known today that, in January 1939, the IRA launched a bombing campaign, codenamed The S - or Sabotage - Plan on mainland England. With cynical self-justification, they announced that it was not their intention to harm…

A race-against-the-clock narrative that finally illuminates a history-changing event: the IRA’s attempt to assassinate Margaret Thatcher and the epic manhunt that followed.A bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army exploded at 2:…

Irish troops had fought for Louis XIV in the 1670s, under Irish officers who had little choice but to fight in foreign service, with the blessing of Charles II. With the accession of James II, and the religious politics of who mig…

Guerrilla warfare is the struggle of the weak against the strong. During the War of Independence in Ireland, the IRA adapted to guerrilla warfare and was able to inflict severe damage on the Crown forces. By mid-1921, British casu…

From the master storyteller behind 2023's critically acclaimed KILLING THATCHERA Rebel and a Traitor is the story of a rogue imperial consul who sought to forge a new nation in the middle of a war - and the mercurial spy chief who…

1916: The Rising Handbook offers bite-sized details about the organisations involved in the Rising, the positions occupied during Easter week, the weapons the rebels and army used, the documents that were passed around, and the sp…

Proverbs from the Irish language - seanfhocail - hark back to a time when Ireland and its people were predominantly agricultural, poor and Catholic; though centuries old, they are integral to a sense of culture and are rich in wis…

The Laneways of Medieval Cork was first published in 2002 by Cork City Council.  As part of the refurbishment of the historic core of the city a study was carried out to identify and demarcate the medieval and post-medieval lanewa…

In 1983 an off-duty prison officer was shot by the IRA in cold blood on a Dublin street. Over 40 years later, no one has been convicted of his murder. In this book, his son outlines why justice must be done.Brian Stack was the chi…

In 1981, the Stardust nightclub in Dublin was a beacon for the city's nightlife - until it became a nightmare. On that fateful Valentine's Day the dance floor became a scene of horror, as flames engulfed the venue, claiming the li…

The Pocket Book of St Patrick explores the extraordinary life and enduring influence of Ireland's patron saint. Tracing his journey from youth in captivity to his mission of spreading Christianity across Ireland, it weaves togethe…

In the 1800s, as Britain became the world's most powerful industrial empire, Ireland starved. The Great Famine fractured long-held assumptions about political economy and 'civilisation', threatening disorder in Britain.Ireland was…

In November 2023, the Dublin riots shocked Ireland and the wider world. They were sparked by a knife attack by an immigrant on three children. Inflammatory online rumours spread in minutes.Part of the north inner city were wrecked…

The Shortest History of Ireland is based at every step on the latest scholarship, but it’s all brought together, for once, as a fluent story, as captivating as a novel, galloping from the Ice Age to the present, using language, gr…

Embrace all things Irish with these 200 interesting, important, and fun Irish words and phrases—as well as what each teaches us about the history and culture of Ireland. Céad míle fáilte! Dia duit. You don’t need to be fluent to a…

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…