The Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s has been popularly perceived as a genocide attributable to the British government. In professional historical circles, however, such singular thinking was dismissed many years ago, as evidenced by the scathing academic response to Cecil Woodham-Smith's 1963 classic, The Great Hunger, which, in addition to presenting a vivid and horrifying picture of the human suffering, made strong accusations against the British government's failure to act. And while British governmental sins of omission and commission during the famine played their part, there is a broader context of land agitation and regional influences of class conflict within Ireland that also contributed to the starvation of more than a million people. This remarkable book opens a door to understanding all sides to this tragedy with an absorbing history provided by novelist Colm Toibin that is supported by a collection of key documents selected by historian Diarmaid Ferriter. An important piece of revisionist thinking, The Irish Famine: A Documentary is sure to become the classic primer for this lamentable period of Irish history.

The Irish Famine: A Documentary

History

Ferriter, Diarmaid

TOIBIN, COLM.

Europe

Thomas Dunne Books

A Nation of Extremes: The Pioneers in Twentieth Century Ireland

The Irish have had, and continue to experience an extraordinary relationship with alcohol. Ferriter explores this relationship, in the twentieth century, from the point of view of the group who were intent on reducing alcohol consumption through membership of the Pioneer Total Abstinence of the Sacred Heart.

Irish Academic Press

Explores the extraordinary relationship the Irish have with alcohol from the point of view of the group who were intent on reducing alcohol consumption through membership in the Pioneer Total Abstinence of the Sacred Heart. The Pioneers was formed in 1898, by the mid 1950s the association was to claim a membership of nearly half a million, identifiable by the wearing of a pin, the outward expression of an internal and deeply personal piety. It was a startling figure for such a small country but the stereotype of the Irish as a nation of heavy drinkers continued unabated, aided by vast expenditure on alcohol. As the century progressed two diametrically opposed cultures - abstinence and heavy drinking - were lying alongside each other. Ferriter makes use of previously unpublished sources, examines the Irish temperance movement in the context of Irish society as a whole and attempts to tease out some of the intricacies and ambiguities associated with these two cultures. Although the leaders of this temperance crusade insisted that it was primarily a religious movement, given the pervasiveness of the Irish drink culture it was inevitable that in their desire to transform attitudes they would have to involve themselves in the wider, and more material debates about the role of drink in Irish society. The fact that the movement was founded at a time of intense cultural nationalism gave these debates an added potency, particularly as it had often been contended that increased sobriety was essential for any self-respecting self-governing nation. After Independence, the quest for sobriety and an initially robust Catholic crusade ultimately led to confrontation and confusion.

This book, which in May 2010 won the North American Society for Sports History (NASSH) award for the best edited volume published in 2009, brings together some of the leading writers in the area of Irish history to assess the importance of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Irish society since its founding in 1884 and it is the first key book to center on the GAA and Irish history. While there has been much written about the GAA, the bulk of work has concentrated on the sporting aspects of the Association - the great games and famous players - rather than the role that the GAA has played in wider Irish history. The chapters cover a large chronological span dating back to the origins of hurling, through the foundation of the GAA, its role in the political life of the nation and ending with an assessment of some of the main issues facing the GAA into the twenty-first century. Importantly, the book also offers original and insightful work on areas including the class make up of the GAA, the centrality of Amateurism in the Association, the role of the Irish language, and the ways in which films have featured Gaelic games.

The Gaelic Athletic Association, 1884-2009

This volume, comprising Colm Toibin's acclaimed short text and linked collection of key documents put together by one of Ireland's younger historians, offers a many-sided view of one of history's moist poignant and far-reaching catastrophes.

Irish Famine: A Documentary

Diane Pub Co.

Packed with violence, political drama and social and cultural upheaval, the years 1913-1923 saw the emergence in Ireland of the Ulster Volunteer Force to resist Irish home rule and in response, the Irish Volunteers, who would later evolve into the IRA. World War One, the rise of Sinn Fein, intense Ulster unionism and conflict with Britain culminated in the Irish war of Independence, which ended with a compromise Treaty with Britain and then the enmities and drama of the Irish Civil War. Drawing on an abundance of newly released archival material, witness statements and testimony from the ordinary Irish people who lived and fought through extraordinary times, A Nation and not a Rabble explores these revolutions. Diarmaid Ferriter highlights the gulf between rhetoric and reality in politics and violence, the role of women, the battle for material survival, the impact of key Irish unionist and republican leaders, as well as conflicts over health, land, religion, law and order, and welfare.

A Nation and Not a Rabble: The Irish Revolutions 1913-1923

Abrams Press

Renowned Irish historian Diarmaid Ferriter presents a fresh look at the Irish revolutionary period from 1913-1923, drawing from newly available historical sources as well as the testimonies of the people who lived and fought through this extraordinary period. Ferriter highlights the gulf between rhetoric and reality in politics and violence, the role of women, the battle for material survival, the impact of key Irish unionist and republican leaders, as well as conflicts over health, land, religion, law and order, and welfare.

A Nation and Not a Rabble: The Irish Revolution 1913-1923

Harry N. Abrams

A narrative history of twentieth-century Ireland is a social, political, and cultural survey from the perspective of a young historian who came of age in the century's final quarter, drawing on memoirs and previously unpublished sources to offer insight into the nation's bitterly divided society and its role in continental Europe.

The Transformation of Ireland

1st 2015 edition hardcover fine book fine dw In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

A Nation and not a Rabble: The Irish Revolution 1913-23

Profile Books, Ltd.

On the Edge: Ireland's off-shore islands: a modern history

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ferriter, Diarmaid. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Ferriter, Diarmaid

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ferriter, Diarmaid. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Irish Famine: A Documentary

A Nation of Extremes: The Pioneers in Twentieth Century Ireland

A Nation of Extremes: The Pioneers in Twentieth Century Ireland

The Gaelic Athletic Association, 1884-2009

Irish Famine: A Documentary

A Nation and Not a Rabble: The Irish Revolutions 1913-1923

A Nation and Not a Rabble: The Irish Revolution 1913-1923

The Transformation of Ireland

A Nation and not a Rabble: The Irish Revolution 1913-23

On the Edge: Ireland's off-shore islands: a modern history