Mike Cronin

This is an interesting book with an interesting array of contributors. Regan's "Politics of Utopia" focuses on the Cumann na nGaedheal administration in independent Ireland and has some intriguing suggestions. Dunphy's "Enigma of Fianna Fáil" is well written and provides an interesting perspective into that organisation. O'Driscoll gives an intriguing piece into social Catholicism and vocationalism which was much more active here than in other countries. Lowry's "New Ireland" examines Ireland's role abroad while Dempsey concludes with an interesting chapter on the attitude of ex-Unionists. These chapters stand out to me.… (more)

Ghastly mash up of anecdotal history, April 28, 2010
By Amy E. Henry (Nipomo, CA United States) - See all my reviews


This review is from: Irish History For Dummies (Paperback)
This was a subtext used in an anthropology class, and it is incredibly useless. There is no cohesive theme or element in the text: it jumps around in a flippant, jokey, childish tone (even cartoons) that minimizes the importance and relevance of what should be socially urgent information.

Time periods jumble around, the jargon is dumbed down to elementary school level, and too much attention is paid to small events rather than the pattern of the whole history.

Additionally, something is said by what is left out: only one obscure reference to the IRA? No discussion of "official" vs. "provisional" IRA? Minimal info on Ian Paisley, Michael Collins, the abstention policy,and the Ballymurphy Riots?

Incredibly disappointing and potentially dangerous...… (more)

Cronin's text seems to avoid all the pitfalls a book of this title could fall into. It is highly readable, and its coverage of the history of Ireland is in the main comprehensive and coherent. Importantly, Cronin's tone is professional and disinterested, which is more than can be said for many texts that linger around the same shelfmark. The final chapters, those concerned with post-partition Ireland, and especially on the North since 1969 are of particular interest, given the seeming lack of availability of reliable literature on the topic. I have reservations in regard to some of the issues that Cronin has thought fit to omit from the text. For example, the influence and happenings of the Land League and the agrarian unrest of the late Nineteenth Century are dealt with rather perfunctorily. Some cultural issues, such as the Gaelic revival of the early Twentieth Century are also covered insufficiently . But these are only minor omissions given the abitious range of the book (over a thousand years in under three hundred pages).

Cronin's text makes for a brilliant, impartial introduction to Irish history, and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone tackling the issues as part of an undergraduate history or politics module. But it is just that - an introduction. If you're already well-versed in the subject, I'd plump for something a little more ambitious.… (more)

Unexpected by me, this is an academic-style book. It’s a bit confounding that writing about such a festive occasion could be so dry and I found it very slow going. On the positive side, I’m glad the authors took the subject seriously instead of making their book a paean to hokey St. Patrick’s Day stereotypes. Especially, since they explore the multi-faceted aspects of St. Patrick’s Day as a day for religious observance and political controversy as well as frolics and frivolities. Most of all, this book is interesting due to how it traces how celebrants defines and refined the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day across time and in many lands.… (more)