Mike Cronin - Irish History For Dummies

Irish History For Dummies, 2nd Edition

by Mike Cronin

Irish History For Dummies, 2nd Edition

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ISBN: 978-1-119-99587-6 (paperback), 978-1-119-97306-5 (ebook), 978-1-119-97307-2 (ebook), 978-1-119-97308-9 (ebook)

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Bell & Bain Ltd., Glasgow, United Kingdom.

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About the Author

Mike Cronin studied history at the University of Kent and at Oxford, and has taught history to university students for the past fifteen years. He has published widely on the history of Ireland, and also on the history of sport. His books include a history of sport and nationalism in Ireland, a jointly authored history of St Patricks Day celebrations around the world, and a general history of Ireland. He is currently the Academic Director at Boston Colleges Centre for Irish Programmes in Dublin, and is researching the history of major public spectacles and festivals in twentieth century Ireland.

Authors Acknowledgments

Over the years I have taught many university students who knew no Irish history and had no Irish heritage. This was a challenging and fascinating process as it forced me to rethink my teaching of Irish history from the beginning. Much of what appears in this book, and the ways that different periods of Irish history are explained, emerge from the challenges laid down to me by my students over the years. To all of them, for their patience and their interest, I offer my thanks.

I would also like to acknowledge the work of two important people at Wiley: Alison Yates who first came to me with the idea for this book, and Rachael Chilvers who worked long and hard in making sure that everything was done properly. The efforts of the development editor, Tracy Barr, the copy editor, Martin Key, and the technical editor, Neil Fleming, are much appreciated, and all made incisive and valuable comments that have improved the text. For the new edition, I have to thank Mike Baker and Simon Bell for holding my hand and going through this all again.

My colleagues at the Centre for Irish Programmes at Boston College were, as always, a mine of useful information and a source of support, and in Dublin, Thea Gilien graciously allowed Dummies to interfere with the work of the office. For his help (again) with the Irish language, and his general enthusiasm for life, Id like to thank Brian Conchubhair. At home, my family, Moynagh, Ellen and Samson, were as joyful as always, and their love and support invaluable in everything I do. Anything that is amiss with the book is all my fault, and all the wonderful people listed above are blameless!

Publishers Acknowledgements

Were proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Commissioning, Editorial, and Media Development

Project Editor: Simon Bell,
(Previous Edition: Rachael Chilvers)

Commissioning Editor: Mike Baker,
(Previous Edition: Alison Yates)

Assistant Editor: Ben Kemble

Copy Editor: Martin Key

Technical Editor: Dr N.C. Fleming, Queens University, Belfast

Publisher: David Palmer

Production Manager: Daniel Mersey

Cover Photos: CORBIS: Brooks Kraft, Bettmann, Hutton-Deutsch Collection, Reuters; Hulton Archive/Getty Images; The Irish Image Collection

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Kristie Rees

Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers, Joyce Haughey, Corrie Socolovitch, Kim Tabor

Proofreader: Laura Albert

Indexer: Claudia Bourbeau

Introduction

W hen I first travelled to Ireland to do some research, I was amazed by the reaction of the people I talked to. After I had explained what I was doing, I was half expecting people to nod politely and then run off to watch paint dry because that would be more interesting than talking about Irish history. What I found instead was a country full of people who were passionate and excited about their history and wanted to talk and talk and talk about it. Every person had their own story. This could be about a family member who had been involved in or witnessed a great moment in history, or the story of the local area and the events that had unfolded there. And these were great stories. They werent boring facts recited without any humour or excitement, but tales that brought the events of the past to life.