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A review by disreputabledog
Malachy McCourt's History of Ireland (Paperback) by Malachy McCourt
4.0
I'm giving this a 4 star review although 3.5 is probably more accurate.
Malachy McCourt's "History of Ireland" recounts Irish history by focusing on the people who shaped it. (It would probably be more accurate if he had titled it something like "Famous People in Irish History"). Each chapter describes a different figure, and the chapters are arranged chronologically throughout history. The problem with this structure is that sometimes McCourt glosses over important events in Irish history before finally getting around to discussing a person who was involved in the event. This is most notable in the second half of the book, which deals with the period of about 1850 to the present. For example, the Easter Uprising of 1916 is mentioned in passing several times before McCourt has a chapter on someone who was directly involved in the uprising. This structure probably works for readers who have some familiarity with Irish history, but, as someone who came into this book not knowing much at all, I found it confusing.
With that being said, there are two aspects of this history I really liked. First, McCourt spends a significant amount of time on 1850-2000, which is also the period I knew the least about. Since this was a monumental part of Irish history, I appreciated that I devoted so much time to it.
Second, McCourt has a very conversational writing style that made this history entertaining to read. He makes it very clear in the beginning that this is not meant to be a scholarly history, and indeed a lot of the "history" comes from stories he heard from other people. This plays on the oral storytelling tradition so characteristic of Ireland, and I enjoyed the approach.
Bottom line: this is a great book if you are familiar with key events in Irish history. However, I would not recommend it if you don't already have some background on Ireland.
Malachy McCourt's "History of Ireland" recounts Irish history by focusing on the people who shaped it. (It would probably be more accurate if he had titled it something like "Famous People in Irish History"). Each chapter describes a different figure, and the chapters are arranged chronologically throughout history. The problem with this structure is that sometimes McCourt glosses over important events in Irish history before finally getting around to discussing a person who was involved in the event. This is most notable in the second half of the book, which deals with the period of about 1850 to the present. For example, the Easter Uprising of 1916 is mentioned in passing several times before McCourt has a chapter on someone who was directly involved in the uprising. This structure probably works for readers who have some familiarity with Irish history, but, as someone who came into this book not knowing much at all, I found it confusing.
With that being said, there are two aspects of this history I really liked. First, McCourt spends a significant amount of time on 1850-2000, which is also the period I knew the least about. Since this was a monumental part of Irish history, I appreciated that I devoted so much time to it.
Second, McCourt has a very conversational writing style that made this history entertaining to read. He makes it very clear in the beginning that this is not meant to be a scholarly history, and indeed a lot of the "history" comes from stories he heard from other people. This plays on the oral storytelling tradition so characteristic of Ireland, and I enjoyed the approach.
Bottom line: this is a great book if you are familiar with key events in Irish history. However, I would not recommend it if you don't already have some background on Ireland.