Ireland, 1815–1870

Emancipation, famine and religion

Donnchadh Ó Corráin & Tomás O'Riordan, editors

‘An essential text for any student or scholar of Irish history … this volume is an impressive collection of primary sources combined with brief yet useful commentary … historical analysis that is clear and direct … a welcome contribution to Irish history, filling a void for the nineteenth century. The editors of the volume have managed to synthesise a great amount of material in a concise and easily accessed format. The book would be particularly useful to students or beginning scholars', Cara Delay, Irish Studies Review (2013).

‘Students will find numbered bite-sized paragraphs summarising a particular event, organisation or individual along with handy quotations and tables. Just the thing for writing an essay or preparing for an exam', Books Ireland (April 2011).

‘These two books [Ireland, 1815–70 and Ireland, 1870–1914] explore our recent history in terms of set themes which illuminate the past in a very different way … it is to be hoped that this set will be widely read, providing as it does not only extended overviews of how the past seems to recent historians, but also original materials which illuminate them. The combination is unique and deserves to be widely appreciated … A useful aspect of both volumes are the chapters which provide mini-biographies of the key personalities, a far better way of integrating the effect of individuals on the times they lived in than any broad narrative can attain. The volumes are handsomely produced and adroitly illustrated with a range of often unusual pictures. But it is the space and detail that they devote to religion and culture in the widest sense that will make these volumes of great value to all readers', Peter Costello, The Irish Catholic (15 September 2011).

‘This is not a narrative but a series of essays and explanations of key concepts, together with short biographies of important historical personalities. The excellent collection scrutinises three major developments in Irish social and political history: Catholic emancipation, the great famine and the reform of the Irish Catholic Church after 1850. The sections on the great famine are replete with important insights, definitions, and appropriately chilling passages', Barry McLoughlin, Books Ireland (Summer 2011).