Ireland pre-trip reading

Can't help you with any of those. But I did recently finish Tana French's "Faithful Place" and loved it. It's the third in a series, each with a different narrator. I think this one stands alone and you don't need to read the first two. This has good descriptions of Dublin working class life.

Thanks!

For very light reading try the following two novels by Edward Rutherfurd: Princes of Ireland and Rebels of Ireland. Both large novels great for reading on the trip over.

The most important book I read before I went to Ireland was "Trinity" by Leon Uris. It's a novel based in the 1800's that gives an excellent insight into the republican cause. Another thoroughly enjoyable fictional account was "Ireland" by Frank Delaney. It captures some history and mythology of Ireland told by a roving storyteller. Excellent read. I hope to re-read both books now that I've been to Ireland.

Buy and read this paperback; In Search of Ancient Ireland: The Origins of the Irish from Neolithic Times to the Coming of the English. Good read.

Thanks to all of you! :D I just borrowed "Ireland" on audiobook from the library - can't wait to get into it! I'm going to track down the others, too!

Not history, but to satisfy your lighter reading list, I liked "Round Ireland with a Fridge" by Tony Hawks and "McCarthy's Bar" by Pete McCarthy. Both fun accounts of the people of Ireland.

oops, I replied to your other posting of this question

Matt - other posting? I've only posted the question here. But now I'm curious . . . what did you say?

How the Irish Saved Civilization is a great book. I would not call in light reading, but it's easy reading. It's very well written and quite interesting. It's also pretty short.

Robin, On my computer your question is listed twice, posted a few hours apart. As I write this, the second one is three questions below this question. In any case, here's what I wrote there: Robin,
The Cahill book is both short and an excellent read. It's also filled with interesting history. I haven't read the others. I learned the hard way, both in college and outside reading ever since, that there is no "easy read" of Irish history. If you want to avoid heavy nonfiction, Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes is beautifully written and gives you a sense of being poor in Ireland in the early 20th century. His brother Malachy McCourt has written a short history of Ireland that I haven't read yet, but knowing Malachy, I'm guessing it's funny and engaging. If you like novels and don't mind long, serious ones, an American author named Thomas Flanagan wrote a trilogy of novels about three periods of revolution in Ireland: The Year of the French, the Tenants of Time, and the End of the Hunt. They are all excellent and underrated as literature. I particularly like the second book. Happy reading!

Thanks, Matt! :D

Hi Robin, OK, my suggestion isn't a book, but a video. It is 'The Story of Ireland' presented by Fergal Keane. It is really well done, interesting and not boring at all (to me anyway). It is by the BBC. My husband and I are also going to Ireland the first time this summer and wanted to learn about the history and culture, this really was great! Happy Travels to you! :0)

McCarthy's Bar or Pint-Sized Ireland are good travel reads (Pint-Sized is more historical). Both provide a cultural-anthropological glimpse into Ireland in a very humourous way. You can get through them both rather quickly (and chuckle as you read). Maybe not the historical read you were looking for, but has good info nonetheless. This'll be my 3rd trip there, and I've been finding that reading authors from Ireland is helpful so that when you see the historical markers for such things, you know exactly to whom they're referring.

Thanks! I'm looking into both of your suggestions. :D

Again on the lighter side, but well grounded in history is Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma series. I really enjoy them. Pam