The Story of the Irish Race

Every little Irish shop in america seemed to sell this book when I was growing up, and I got a copy as a gift from my mother at the time. I never got around to reading it then and the book itself is long gone, but I'm finally reading the text as an ebook. Unfortunately, neither the tone (unabashedly uncritical and ahistorical) nor the style (unnecessarily convoluted) have worn at all well since the book's initial publication almost a hundred years ago. Here is an example of the tortured prose:

"Even of Fursa's servant, St. Maguille, the memory is honoured at St. Riquier, where is his holy well, and where, more than four centuries after, and again four centuries after that, his body was enshrined in a very precious shrine, and show more re-enshrined with ecclesiastical honours."

Tolerant though I usually am of historical styles, I cannot see this as anything other than a failed attempt at "fine writing." show less

This was a very good read. The author presents their points in an easy-to-follow manner instead of listing years and numbers and droning on. MacManus instead writes the information in a narrative and this makes it a much better read in my opinion. It is very obvious that the author has researched all their information as their writing flows effortlessly from point to point. The information was great to read. I definitely learned a few new things about the Irish Race. I would definitely recommend this book to all who are interested in Celts, Ireland, or general history.

Irish history emerges from misty legends. This book sifts for facts among the fables. Invaders and powerful kings make up much of the early narrative, as it was they who left historical footprints. Tribal Ireland needed powerful kings to form a united front against foreign invaders. Indeed, Ireland was invaded and colonized so many times from so many directions that it is hard to say for sure who the Irish are. It is a story marked by wars, famines, persecutions, and suffering. Saints and scholars enter the narrative, followed by freedom fighters and Fenians.

This is the Irish experience to about 1920. Did you know that the Irish invaded England? That Christianity was established in Ireland before St. Patrick arrived? That the show more Renaissance began in Ireland? That Irish monks were in North America centuries before Columbus? That wearing a moustache was punishable by death under the English penal laws? That the Irish were more fluent in Latin than in English?

This is a big book, not a quick or easy read, but it can be read piecemeal. It covers a lot of ground, from Irish customs and costumes to arts and crafts, poetry, trade and manufacture, politics, laws, education, religion, monasticism, the status of women, etc. It could benefit from artful condensation and better organization. It may be too detailed for some readers. Bias? Yes, but it does not obscure the facts … or the fables. show less

This book is finally finished. The author lamented in the prologue that many people knew little about Irish history. His worries are over. Anyone who completes this book will know everything there is to know about the Irish race. The many hardships detailed in this book that the Irish have suffered are enough to cause one to cry. However, I feel that less passionate writing would have been more effective. After all, the trials and unfair political burdens placed on these people speak for themselves. I now have a very broad knowledge and a greater sympathy for those who lived and are living in Ireland.

So this book was very well written in my opinion.
The chapters were relatively short, which made reading a bit easier, and the breakdown of information could have been done a bit better, but this was overall a good book.
There were a lot of parts that I knew (or knew variants of), which was nice for me to read and see a different perspective (albeit slightly) on these stories.

Revised Edition carries the history to 1938.

History of Ireland