Eyewitness to Irish History - Softcover

"It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the extraordinary breadth of research undertaken by Peter Beresford Ellis that he has now produced a powerful, expansive and compelling compendium of the eyewitness in Irish history. Ellis is understandably highly regarded for his skill in locating obscure yet important documents which chart Irish civilization and its many challenges over the centuries. This volume does full justice to his reputation as a prodigious researcher and judicial commentator on the great sweep of Irish history." --Dr. Ruan O'Donnell, History Department, University of Limerick

"This is a well-crafted, intellectually stimulating narrative of Irish culture and history from ancient times to the present struggle in Northeast Ireland. It is a good read for both the scholar and layman and an antidote to both revisionist and post-revisionist biases in academia." --Seamus Metress, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology, The University of Toledo

A unique documentary history of Irish civilization from ancient times to the present, Eyewitness to Irish History draws upon original source materials to capture the tumultuous events and distinctive texture of Irish history like no other book. Comparing the readings compiled here to snapshots, the renowned Celtic scholar Peter Berresford Ellis offers what, in essence, is a family photo album of Ireland and the Irish people–beginning with Golamh, the legendary leader of the band of Iberian Celts who settled the island more than three thousand years ago, as told in the Lebor Gabála Erenn, or Book of Invasions, and concluding with gripping firsthand accounts by those on both sides of the bloody civil conflict in Northern Ireland.

From the codification of the Irish laws by the poet Ollamh Fodhla in the eighth century b.c.e. to the defeat of the Vikings by High King Brian Boiroihme in 1014 c.e., from the English Tudor conquests of the sixteenthcentury to the Easter Uprising of 1916 and the subsequent establishment of the Irish Free State, virtually every major event is covered here in texts ranging from ancient forsundun (praise songs) and the hero kings to newspaper accounts, public decrees, and even graffiti. At the same time, you’ll find vivid portraits of everyday life in Ireland throughout the centuries as chronicled in everything from St. Patrick’s confessions to heartrending accounts of the famine of 1848 to the letters, diaries, and memoirs of a vast and multifarious array of authors.

The story of Ireland as told through the words of those who actually lived it, Eyewitness to Irish History offers you an unparalleled opportunity to experience the grand sweep of one of the world’s most ancient and vital civilizations.