I am Irish Australian and like Thomas Keneally and his children, my ancestors were forced to leave Ireland and start a new life in Australia.

As I have become older, and living now in the UK, I have become increasingly interested in what led my ancestors to come to Australia. I think Keneally has been struck by this thought as well - how did we become who we are? When you are descended from convicts, you find yourself wondering how life might have been different if they had not been deported - equally, you realise how lucky you are that as a consequence, you happen to have been born in one of the best places in the world. The British did not realise what a blessing they were bestowing upon us!

This book is not just a book about the Irish experience in Australia - it is more profoundly a history of Ireland itself. The Irish story, however, is much more than the potato famine or the rise of Sinn Fein or the Battle of the Boyne - it is also the lives led by its citizens, both in Ireland and abroad. To be Irish was a very special thing indeed, even though in most cases, this meant in fact that you were treated with suspicion and disdain.

The story of men and women such as Hugh Larkin deported to Australia for standing up for the families and land, is sadly common, even banal. But such people they were! I admire them so much for their fortitude and courage and this book is a tribute to them.

It is hard to imagine what it must have been like to have been forcefully removed from your families in those days of no telephones, faxes, planes - life truly meant life and those men and women left Ireland with little hope that they would ever be able to return. I have a small story to tell that helps put it all in context. My grandmother (sadly deceased) told us how when she was a child growing up in the Queensland bush in 1900, her aged father (not the convict! ) would ask her to sing, late in the evening at the barndances held at their farm, all the Irish songs to him and his cronies in the district who were all homesick for Ireland. The song the old men loved most, apparently, was "I'll take you home again Kathleen". The yearning for home was so deep for all of them.

Kenneally is a great Australian and I never enjoy his work more than when his sharp eyes and lyrical words are focused upon our country and the people who have made it what it is today. One of these days, Keneally will win the Nobel Prize, I am sure of it. He is a genial man and the love of his subject-matter shines through this extraordinary work.

I thoroughly recommend this book.

The story of what happened to the Irish political prisoners known as the Young Irelanders and the Fenians, in the 1850s and 60s, is expertly told by Australian writer Thomas Keneally in "The Great Shame." Sticking firmly to documented history, about the only thing Keneally leaves out is the nastier side of Fenianism, with its secret vendettas and occasional underlying brutality. But that all lies in the misty past, and Keneally has done a first-rate job of bringing much of this truculent history out into the light.

This is an epic journey, just as the formation of the Irish diaspora needs it to be. You never quite know where you are you going to go next, as ships sail back and forth from Ireland to Australia and from Australia to the Americas. It is the roaring days of sail just before steam, and gold is being discovered right and left on both sides of the Pacific, sufficient to lend impetus to various Fenian schemes through goldfields' fundraising.

One of the characters involved in the 50s was a man destined to become an American Civil War hero with the rank of general. He fought on the Union side while another Irishman who had fought the same battle as he had at home in Ireland, and had also been transported for it, fought with the Confederates. Such were the fortunes of war at that time.

The book also recounts how the Fenian forces tried on three occasions, prior to Confederation, to invade Canada in order to hurt the British in North America. They also had the long-term plan of mounting an invasion of Ireland from a Canadian base. It was all a bit pathetic in the end, but for a time, it was in deadly earnest and who could have said what the result might not have been had the Fenian forces succeeded.

Perhaps the most interesting part of a very entertaining book is the retelling of an attempted rescue from Western Australia of the last group of Fenian "lifers," all soldiers who had been cashiered from the British Army for their part in Fenian plots in England and Ireland. These men had little hope of ever leaving their prison, and were mostly ailing by the time American Fenians had raised the enormous sum needed to buy a ship to go to their rescue. The hair-raising tale of what happened is one of the nineteenth century's best adventure stories, and Keneally relishes the telling of it.

So this is a book which has everything an Irishman, or an Irishman at heart, could wish for. I wonder what the reaction of the English might be to such a tale. The evidence is somewhat damning, to the effect that political repression of the most odious kind was used during and after the famine. Of course, this is only referring to the nineteenth century and does not go back in any detail to the awful story of Cromwell's men or even earlier, which might lead one to think that the English, when they came to Ireland, only did so to practice.

If you've got any Irish blood in you, (and if you didn't previously know one way or the other, this may prove to be a glorious occasion for finding out) you'll fairly quickly be learning to say the old war cry, Erin go bragh. Ireland forever! It's a strange tale and one that should make us reflect about the nature of power and its misuse. It all seems so long ago now but that's just a mirage of sorts, for it was really only just the other day.

Lastly I should point out that writing a book like this must have been a sheer delight. Keneally seems to have visited many of the sites he talks about and they are often in out of the way places. I imagine that it was an absolute pleasure for him to write a book like this and I look forward to the day when he finds time to do it again. I can't recommend "The Great Shame" highly enough.

Thomas Keneally looks into his own family history, and ends up setting forth the fascinating story of Young Ireland, one of the most neglected periods of Irish history. With his great eye for detail and beautiful imagery, Keneally relates the story of such Irish legends as William Smith O'Brien, Thomas Meagher and John Mitchel. "The Great Shame" brings the lives of these and the other Irish legends of the time to vivid life, following them from their roots in Ireland, to their exile in Van Diemen's Land, and culminating in their glorious rebirth in Civil War America. Read this book!

An excellent source for information on saints of the Roman Catholic Church and the Ortodox Church up through the Schism. It does not include saints of the Episcopal Church, but does include those popular saints such as Barbara and Christopher removed in the 1968-69 time frame. I use it in writing my monthly column for my parish newsletter.

An entertaining and informative dictionary of saints that not only gives the lives of the saints but also a history of their folklore, veneration and relics. Farmer includes "popular" saints like St. Werner (who was never formally canonized), desanctified saints like Barbara, and a few saints of the Orthodox traditions. Appendices list patron saints and symbols associated with the saints. You will not find every saint in this work, but the ones you do find are described in rich detail. I bought this book for a narrow purpose and soon found myself reading it from cover to cover in bed. The only bothersome thing, for me, is Farmer's Anglophilia: he gives space to many obscure English and Irish saints while ignoring some key figures from other parts of the world, like St. Diego of Alcala (for whom San Diego is named). Nonetheless, it is a useful book for either reference or entertainment.

Balanced, informative, and interesting summary of available information on approximately 1300 saints, with useful system of indexing and cross-referencing.

In summarizing the lives of the saints, some sources seem to want to gloss over the more fantastic, fairy-tale aspects of some stories, while other sources will drift off into a Daily Meditation self-help format. This text takes an even-handed and academic approach, that allows the reader to draw his own conclusions.

As a Californian, it is a little frustrating to deal with the British bias on saints, and find nothing about saints who were chosen for California place names like San Dimas, San Luis Obispo, San Diego (Didacus?), and San Ysidro. But overall this is an excellent source for hagiographic trivia and history.

this book was excellent. it was well informed and realistic. Because the process is unfinished the end of the book is a bit vague, unavoidable really.

if you want to get the inside track on the NI peace process, I recomment this book.

This book by David McKittrick (AND Eamonn Mallie)has now been updated. It is up to the standard that we have come to expect from two of the best reporters, in any medium, on the Northern Ireland situation. Their strength lies not only in straight forward writing, easily understood by even new readers of the subject but in keen analysis and above all, almost unparalleled access. The ability to get behind the scenes and find out fascinating nuggets of information from key players is what makes their books so interesting. Personal anecdotes from those involved in the negotiations make the scenes come alive. What better recommendation is there than the jacket quote from the Secretary of State that he read it and it provided HIM with insights!

Introducing Joyce really gives the reader insight into Joyce's methods of writing, how much of his work was autobiographical, and helps one better grasp this great writer's unique style. I was also amused with the interesting illustrations throughout the book. These illustrations make it impossible for the reading to become at all monotonous. One learns many things that are incorporated into his work that you would never know without reading this book. Overall, an excellent way to prepare for the experience of Joyce's writing.

This is an excellent introduction to the life and writings of James Joyce, the former being essential to understanding the later, on any level. Mr. Norris's text and Mr. Clint's illustrations (which are actually rather functional) bring a sense of insight to any who attempt to take on one of the most complex writers in Western literature. The outline of "Ulysses" is excellent, and Mr. Norris even takes on the daunting task of begining to explain what has to be one of the most utterly demanding books ever, "Finnegan's Wake," and illustrates, literally, that it is not just some great joke or jibberish as others who probably have tried and failed to interpet, claim it is. And the keen advice from Mr. Norris, although rather pedestrian, disproves the popular notion of Joyce being unreadable. I would strongly recommend this and any of the other editions in this excellent series (I have since purchased, "Introducing Kafka.")

While usually a great fan of Lonely Planet guides, I found other Greek Islands guides to top this one. I found The Rough Guide to contain more (and better) information and detail on a greater number of villages. Some island villages which looked interesting to me would not be even mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide, yet would be in The Rough Guide. As well, I found the Cadogan (Dana Facaros) Greek Islands guide, while not completely written for the backpacker to be more helpful, with all of the basic information needed, fantastic writing and a satisfactory Athens chapter. I hope they improve the Lonely Planet Greek Islands guide as they're a wonderful outfit, but I'd pass on this one.

This is a great guide book for a trip to the islands. It offers good information on Athens and great background information on Greek culture and history. Beware: the Flying Dolphin office no longer exists in Athens and avoid Hotel Pelican. I also would not recommend the Art Gallery Hotel in Athens. Try Acropolis House instead.

This was my first of many 'Lonely Planet' trips. The Athens hotel reccomendation (our first stop) turned out to be a small place with a lovely breakfast served on the communal 4th floor balcony filled with tropical plants and overlooking the Acropolis. With each stop on the Cycladic Islands, we appreciated this direct and detailed guide that shows you what qualities to look for in an authentic Greek restaurant, tells you why all the cats and dogs are around, while all the while allowing you the freedom and comfort to explore.

This book suffers from three major problems, two of which depend directly on the author's basic personality and approach, and one on a rather incomprehensible decision to accept someone else's clearly flawed conclusions. The latter is Dumville's unfortunate acceptance of James Carney's late dating (493) for Patrick's death, which in turn depends on a mistaken view of the value as evidence of Irish monastic records. The other two major flaws are the bitty presentation of the evidence, with no attempt to present anything like an overall view; and the excessive concentration on the transmission of texts. Always and everywhere, Dumville speaks as though the first WRITTEN appearance of any item represents its origin; an idea that two minutes' thought ought to disprove. And his assumption that the first scholarly problem is to shed light on the origin and history of individual documents means that he never even tries to develop a clear vision of historical developments. To the best of my knowledge, Dumville has never written a book; all books published under his byline are collections of articles, and this, in spite of being conceived and designed from the beginning as a unit, is no exception. The result is that it is hugely difficult to find out what Dumville thinks of any one major problem - except the one on which he is thoroughly, unmistakably wrong, namely the date.
Worst of all is his relentlessly negative and destructive attitude. He finds it more important to shed negative light, disproving others' views. While this is understandable in view of the apparently irresistible appeal of the period he studies - the Insular dark ages - to cranks of every kind, it is in my view an unconstructive attitude. Nevertheless, this book is full of useful items and observations; indeed, Dumville seems to have gone out of his way to incorporate even items he regards as valueless and remote. It can be used with profit even by people who are very far intellectually from its pessimistic, if learned, author.

Saint Patrick by Dumville et alumni is a great find for all who think seriosuly about history - history students and scholars. It requires some knowledge about the Saint as it discusses all the controversial matters referring to His life. The books is very detailed, scrupulous and multidisciplinary. It contains the most important sources, which is essencial in this kind of literature. It presents the most recent state of research on Saint Patrick - his life and background, so anyone who seeks for something really serious about the Saint should definitely have this book.

Saint Patrick ny Dumville et alumni is a great find for all who think seriosuly about history - history students and scholars. It requires some knowledge about the Saint as it discusses all the controversial matters referring to His life. The books is very detailed, scrupulous and multidisciplinary. It contains the most important sources, which is essencial in this kind of literature. It presents the most recent state of research on Saint Patrick - his life and background, so anyone who seeks for something really serious about the Saint should definitely have this book.

This book brings to life the continuing Irish struggle by examining the deaths of 10 men who lived their lives for a peace finally in the grasp of the Irish today. It clearly demonstrates the humanity and depth of courage these souls had, as well as the trials and indignities of life as a political prisoner in a criminal's cell.

The primary source for the narration of this account is the writings of the prisoners themselves, smuggled out of their cells by visitors and compatriots. The words could not ring any truer and cannot be doubted. This is one of the best first hand accounts of the modern Irish Republican struggle.

This book gives a gripping and well detailed account of the 1981 Hunger Strike. Beresford is a journalist who was provided with "comms" (communications) from the hunger strikers and inmates at Long Kesh prison, and much of the book is based on these smuggled notes. Beresford does a fine job of presenting background, and of tempering views by providing background on both sides. Although I find myself in the Republican camp, I did find that he presented the situtation well. When it feels as though you are strongly backing actions and previous criminal acts by inmates and hunger strikers, Beresford depicts family members and biographies of Union/Loyalist supporters to remind us that all are human beings with families and lives who have been lost in this long-standing problem. But Beresford also engages the reader, revealing the hunger strikers as people who were seriously committed to a cause they were willing to give their lives for. The struggle over Northern Ireland is not taken lightly. Although the writing stumbles occasionally, the journalistic approach and research off-sets it by documenting a great deal. This book provides a wonderful historical picture and insight into a tragic part of history.

This is a great book, made so by the author's plentiful use of the prisoners' "comms." These were messages to the outside world written in tiny handwriting on pieces of cigarette paper and then smuggled in and out of the prison in various bodily orifices. This book certainly opened my eyes to just how much can be jammed up the back door (a portable radio and a camera?!) The author was given unprecedented access to these day by day records of the hunger strike by the IRA Army Council, and he makes extensive use of them. This is a powerful and moving chapter in modern history, and the writings of the prisoners' commander "Bik" -- Brendan McFarlane, who studied to become a priest before joining the IRA -- tell the story better than any historian could. My only complaint with the book is that it gets disorganized in the middle. After carefully tracing the development of the hunger strike and laying out the stories of the hunger strikers through the first four deaths, the author drops the ball. All of a sudden we're told that there are five people on strike, then a few pages later eight. This had me searching previous chapters to find out who these people were, to no avail. The author goes back and picks up the pieces for some of the hunger strikers later on, but he should have stuck with the person by person style of the early part of the book. Also, it was sort of annoying that several names of key players were spelled wrong, leading me to wonder if other details may have been wrong.

As with many other countries, Lonely Planet has a very good guide for Ireland. Every city, town, and village are covered in this book. No matter where we were, we could always find something on the location. The index is wonderfully useful for that purpose. There are also some suggested itineraries. My only criticism is that LP seems to have missed many of the excellent guesthouses in Ireland. I would think this should be LP's speciality, so found this aspect disappointing. Still, I would not leave home without LP, on this trip or any other for that matter. Even if you don't want to go the budget route --something many associate with LP -- you will gain from the descriptions of places, restaurant and pub recommendations, maps, history, and more. And despite its reputation, LP does list high-end hotels, castles, and the like. I haven't found a single excellent guide for Ireland, so I suggest doing some internet research before leaving and taking LP and at least one other guide (I like the Blue Guide series).

Bon voyage!!

I just returned from a three month bike tour of Ireland. I had no tour guide; I brought only myself, my bicycle, clothes (of course), and four guide books on Ireland. The one book that I used over and over again, leaving all others tucked abandoned within my pack, was the Lonely Planet guide. The LP guide has detailed chapters on anything and everthing in Ireland, including phone numbers, prices, hours, city maps, hostels, B&B's, hotels etc... It also includes history and facts so that when you do arrive in Ireland and see a castle or a dolmen or the Burren, you will know the story behind it. I can't say enough good things about this guide. If you are going to travel in Ireland, this book is a must!

The Lonely Planet guide book series is by far the best set of books I have found for travel. Let's Go, Rough Guide, Frommer's, etc do not live up to these books. LP offers a great blend of interesting facts (history, etc) with the travel information that we all really want.

I am a student who spent the summer of 1999 traveling through Europe and spring 2000 in ireland. I did read a number of other books before and durring the trip, and will always buy Lonely Planet as they have impressed me as being the best, hands down. If you want to go on a drunken tour, buy Let's Go and end up in the same run down American hostels and American bars as the rest of the American students, but take my word, you will have enough ability to do that with LP, but you will not be forced to either. LP will help you to actually experience the culture, and take in a more European version of Europe than Let's Go, and still give you the opportunity to party like a rock star when you want - its up to you.

It is the most complete and most versitile book I have found. It will cater to budget and intermediate travelers of all ages and groups. I will buy the same series even when I can afford nice resturants and hotels, because LP tells it all.

The same experience is true for my trip this last spring to Ireland. Lonely Planet Ireland is as good as Western Europe, but more detailed.The Lonely Planet guide book series is by far the best set of books I have found for travel. Let's Go, Rough Guide, Frommer's, etc do not live up to these books. LP offers a great blend of interesting facts (history, etc) with the travel information that we all really want.

I am a student who spent the summer of 1999 traveling through Europe - poor, but free. I did read a number of other books before and durring the trip, and will always buy Lonely Planet as they have impressed me as being the best, hands down. If you want to go on a drunken tour, buy Let's Go and end up in the same run down American hostels and American bars as the rest of the American students, but take my word, you will have enough ability to do that with LP, but you will not be forced to either. LP will help you to actually experience the culture, and take in a more European version of Europe than Let's Go, and still give you the opportunity to party like a rock star when you want - its up to you.

It is the most complete and most versitile book I have found. It will cater to budget and intermediate travelers of all ages and groups. I will buy the same series even when I can afford nice resturants and hotels, because LP tells it all.

I'll save you some time. Read the Sept 30th post from a Reader from Zurich. I couldn't have said it any better. This book was shallow and a disappointment.

If you want to plan a great trip with a minimum of hassle, this book won't steer you wrong. This is a great guide to use if you don't have the time or energy to sift through a dense 600-plus page book. We used it on a recent one-week trip to Ireland and thought the hotel & restaurant recommendations were great, and the sightseeing info was all very helpful and accurate. We also liked the worksheets that help you sketch out a budget and itineraries.

I don't think it's fair to compare this book to a Rough Guide, as other reviewers have -- it's like complaining that your pocket Webster's doesn't have as many words as the OED. If you're looking for a totally comprehensive tome that covers every little detail in every corner of the country this isn't the book for you, but you probably guessed that from the title. There is more than enough information here for a one or two week trip to see the highlights of Ireland (both the Republic and Northern Ireland). The lively, humorous tone the book takes is refreshing, and makes the book actually fun to read. There's lots of general travel information that's helpful and reassuring if you don't travel overseas frequently, and lots of resources for anyone who wants to hunt down Irish ancestors.

I traveled to Ireland right after college. Of course this meant that I had little to no money. I looked through everything I could find online and bought a few books and this book by far was the most helpful. It told what were the "must sees" in Ireland that allowed me to get a healthy overview of the country and a memorable trip in only a week.
I agree with some other reviews that it doesn't go into too much depth, but it was my first time in Ireland and I had 7 days, so depth was not an option.
The most appreciated part of this book was the detailed directions to all sites. Trust me, when you're used to street signs, Ireland roads can be tricky to navigate.
Unless you're spending a month on the Isle, I say buy this book.

I read this book and it has great detail but lies with a Protestant zeal. The author tries to claim that Patrick is not Catholic because he is a protestant who wants to claim Patrick as one of his own, but is totally ficticious. He tries to state that Saint Patrick did not use the shamrock to explain the trinity, was not Catholic, and is not a saint. These revolts against the Catholic Church did not begin until after 200 years after Patrick died. All Churches back then were Catholic and it is sad that they broke off when the Church needed reforming not a split.
God Bless and Always in Christ J.M.J.,
Joy Marie Murphy

The basis for this book is the few pages (a short life story and two letters) written by Patrick himself. This then is embellished into a fictional account, using contemporary sources for the details. It reads somewhat like a Paul Coelho fable, was pleasant enough, and is clearly written as a Christian teaching story (with digs at Roman Catholicism in the afterword) by someone with some insight into the early Christian world. Sadly it didn't give me what I was looking for ... setting the story of Croagh Patrick in context. The mountain, including the story of ridding the country of serpents by the 40 days and nights on the top of it, doesn't get a mention. I do believe a real part of Patrick's life was a mission to counter pagan ways, and believe he would have 'baptised' this mountain already sacred to the god Lughna, making it Christian ... also that he would have followed Biblical examples. Millions of others believe something similar. From the way this book sells itself, one expects the full true story ... it isn't that. Don't expect anything complete or authoritative. It is a pleasant but partial fable.

This book is great; an incredibly provocative tale about an unassuming. I was astonished to learn the truth about his life.