Blood on the Harp is an impressive first novel. I was truly captivated with David Winston's sense of time and place. My experience has been that first novels seem to concentrate on the telling of the story to the exclusion of the extra dimensions of believable settings and characters unique to their time. These usually come from frequently published authors. Blood on the Harp is the exception, a first novel that gives the reader characters who would be out of place anywhere else and the feeling of being immersed in their culture, in this case Ireland in the Middle Ages. The success of the novel, however, comes primarily from Winston's causing us to care about his main character, Bran ap Howell. Set in Ireland in 1381, we find an unforgiving culture and a harsh every day existence for Bran, Captain of Lord Arlen's men. Bran was a man we could identify with, ambitious with a bold code of honor yet struggling with a balance between what was best for himself and what was right. He was able to lead men in battle, stand firm on principal and, when conditions required, exhibit a tender side that endeared him to us. In short, we cared what happened to him. I've read lots of books with compelling stories and cardboard characters and perhaps just as many with well realized characters wandering through ill-conveived plots. For those of us who knew David--and I count myself fortunate to say I was one--we knew of his love of Ireland and the re-enactments of midieval times. It was the combining of these two loves that makes Blood on the Harp a personal testament and a memorable read. Godspeed Bran . . and David.

I bought this book before my trip to the British Isles and it was very helpful. Recommended.

I May Be Little is a terrific book. We have the Me Too version which is great for 2 - 4 year olds. The pictures are good for children this age. The story is well told and has not been watered down. David says " I may be little, but with God's help I can do big things."

This well-illustrated book gives a good overview of the Anglo-Irish wars of 1485-1603. It presents an overview of the relationships between the two countries, defines the warring armies and identifies specific types of soldiers, including gallowglas and kern. The illustrations are its strong suit. Many period drawings are included as well as full color reproductions done by present-day artists. For people wanting to see how the soldiers dressed, this is a very good source.

Mr Fitzpatrick has researched this topic well, as one would expect, and produced a book which will be of immense help to researchers and family historians.

With an Irish/Australian family background, I found the book very helpful in putting a detailed perspective on the privations of the Irish Immigrants, and those left behind in the homeland.

The book is not a light read. But it is very readable.

PS. I wish the publisher had bound the book as well as the author/editor had written it. Be careful. It will fall apart if opened wide!

David Willis McCullough has edited and combined many, many original texts of Wars of the Irish Kings (so goes the title) that can be interesting, frustrating, dull or very dull depending on the particular source used. It is a little jarring to go from one of the source writers to another as their styles are often different and the short length of the excerpts does not allow enough time to get used to a particular format or way of expressing ideas before it is time to move on. The flurry of names coming at the reader can be quite daunting, as well. The best and most effective part of the book are the brief introductions before each original source. They are concise, well-written and effectively prepare the reader for what is to come. The book does make me want to read further in Irish history to help fill in some of the gaps left empty by this book.

This book contains stories from a thousand years of Irish kings, as drawn from primary sources. The book begins with the legendary stories of the Book of Invasions, and the stories of Cuchulain, Finn MacCool and Mad King Sweeney, all of which are translated in a clear and compelling style. The stories then continue through to Hugh O'Neill and the Nine Years War. Each section begins with an introduction, and each chapter begins with a preface that introduces the author and what the author is writing about. As an added bonus, this book includes a glossary of common Irish words used in place names (e.g. dun, bally, etc.) and a guide to pronunciation.

This is a wonderful resource. I have read many books on Irish history, and it is great to be able read about select episodes as written about by people who lived closer to the actual events. The stories are easy to read, and are quite entertaining. I recommend this book.

Interesting portrayal of the different leaders of Ireland. A book that I read because of my growing interest in the Irish heritage...Maybe that is because of my girlfriend...but definetly a book to read if you are either of Irish hertiage or like to find out about royalty.

(The book I read was a 1977 reprint of the original 1888 edition, and some of the things I mention here might not apply to later editions.)

This charming book contains many folktales collected around Ireland before the close of the Nineteenth Century. As the title says, there are tales about ghosts, giants, pookas, the devil, etc. A distinctive feature of this book is that the author records not just the tale, but records it in the dialect of the teller!

However, I use the word "charming" because the stories are humorous, but rarely terribly interesting. Also, the author's use of the vernacular, while an interesting feature, requires the reader to pay particular attention when reading, and to be familiar with certain Irish words (e.g. shebeen, poteen, omadhawn, etc.).

As such, I would not call this a great book, but it is a good one - a charming one.

I gave this book 4 stars because I enjoyed reading it.. but the language was something I hadn't expected.. It is written exactly like Irishmen talk.. for an example: Tipperary, whos father was a farmer there, an' had a shmart bit av land wid no end av shape grazin' on it, an' the Tipperary boy was n't bad at all, only as shtupid as a donkey. This was taken from the story "The Rock of Cashel.. So if you buy this book.. be prepared to over look the obvious spelling/language problems but the stories are just as interesting. (I feel this pook should be given 3 and a half stars but I will go up a number instead of down. The book is interesting)

Great stories of Irish legend and folklore, written mostly as told by Irish peasantry in their native dialect.

This collection of articles represents a political point of view about the politics of modern Irish history, not always to my personal taste, but carefully done, all the same.

What I found most valuable was the 13 page introductory essay by the editors. It was worth the price of the entire book to me, as I can now follow much more readily discussions I encounter at home and on-line - who's revisionist, who's counter-revisionist, or why so-and-so is anti-revisionist.

There are 10 essays by authors from several countries (including Wales and Australia). Each explores a topic; 18th century Ireland, the Act of Union between Britain & Ireland, The Famine, Irish Nationalism, Irish Unionism, Home Rule and others. The editors' expressed intention is for a "common thread" of "revisionism" to link them all not only to the debate within Ireland, but to the international debate on methods of historical interpretation.

As a 3rd generation Irish American, I was particularly interested in "Revising the Diaspora", by co-editor Alan O'Day, which I found quite fascinating, as my ancestors arrived both pre- and post- Famine, having very different experiences here in the US. It also flourishes extensive footnotes (as do they all) for further exploration.

If you're interested in modern Irish history, or in the methods and practice of history globally, this scholarly yet emminently readable book is well worth a read.

After enjoying Pete McCarthy and Tony Hanks' tales of travelling 'round Ireland, I was very disappointed with McFadden's attempt at the same. He is too self-absorbed and never really sees anything other than cliche. Don't waste your time!

This should have been called An "Innocent" Slogging Around Ireland. The author explains early on his notion of innocent, but I would hardly call a middle-aged man who picks up a young chambermaid an innocent. (Also, is this guy middle-aged, as the cover photo would indicate, or he is considerably older? He looks about 70 in the flap photo.) Moralizing aside, the author seems only vaguely interested in his plan to follow H.V. Morton's route, and he tends to skip from one subject to another in the space of a single paragraph. Though he makes attempts to explain the look of a thing, person or place, his prose isn't very visual. I also agree with another reviewer that there should have been photographs included. I am very glad I didn't buy the volume on Scotland, which I had been tempted to do. Read Tony Hawks or Pete McCarthy instead.

I purchased this book and McFadden's follow-up on Scotland (which I haven't yet read) based on the local newspaper's Travel section recommendation of the Scottish title. If the book on Scotland is much like the one on Ireland I'm not looking forward to reading it. McFadden spends too much of his narrative observing himself and his unexpected travelling companion, the impulsive Spanish chambermaid/photographer/poet Lourdes Brasil, then he does the people and landscapes of Ireland. I grew tired of his self-congratulatory asides that Lourdes was gaining admiring glances from the Irish. I wanted to know more, to SEE more about the land he was travelling through and the people he was encountering. And instead of making countless references to the photographs both he and Lourdes were taking, he should've included some of the photos in the book. Overall, I wanted more descriptions, to gain more of a sense of being there in Ireland. Instead I was left with the feeling that I had eavesdropped on the unexpected frolic of a middle-aged man and a young Spanish chambermaid who just happened to meet in Ireland and drive around the countryside for a bit. For a better sense of place, skip McFadden's book and try any of the series of travelling and life in Ireland by Niall Williams and Christine Breen.