Ireland's Holy Wars: The Struggle for a Nation's Soul, 1500-2000

For much of the twentieth century, Ireland has been synonymous with conflict, the painful struggle for its national soul part of the regular fabric of life. And because the Irish have emigrated to all parts of the world - while always remaining Irish - 'the troubles' have become part of a common heritage, well beyond their own borders. In most accounts of Irish history, the focus is on the political rivalry between Unionism and Republicanism. But the roots of the Irish conflict are profoundly and inescapably religious. As Marcus Tanner shows in this vivid, warm, and perceptive book, only by understanding the consequences over five centuries of the failed attempt by the English to make Ireland into a Protestant state can the pervasive tribal hatreds of today be seen in context. Tanner traces the creation of a modern Irish national identity through the popular resistance to imposed Protestantism and the common defence of Catholicism by the Gaelic Irish and the Old English of the Pale, who settled in Ireland after its twelfth-century conquest. The book is based on detailed research into the Irish past and a personal encounter with today's Ireland, from Belfast to Cork. Tanner has walked with the Apprentice Boys of Derry and explored the so-called 'Bandit Country' of South Armagh. He has visited churches and religous organisations across the thirty-two counties of Ireland, spoken with priests, pastors and their congregations, and has crossed and re-crossed the lines that for centuries have isolated the faiths of Ireland and their history. more

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5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Apr-05-2008; Ireland's Holy War; This is an excellent book for trying to understand the problems between Ireland and England. Also the problems between fellow Irishmen: Prostestants and Catholics.; read full review | report as inappropriate

4/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jul-05-2003; I liked it, actually; This history of Irish religion may have trouble finding an audience. Its rather exclusive focus on Irish ecclesiastical history in the past 500 years will not satisfy readers expecting a more general account of Cromwell, King Billy of...; read full review | report as inappropriate

2/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Sep-04-2002; When journalism isn't scholarship; On the face of it, Marcus Tanner's history of Ireland's religious conflicts looks impressive. Although Tanner is an English journalist, his book is published by a leading university press, it possesses 39 pages of notes to 431 of text,...; read full review | report as inappropriate

Selected Reviews

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Apr-05-2008; Ireland's Holy War; This is an excellent book for trying to understand the problems between Ireland and England. Also the problems between fellow Irishmen: Prostestants and Catholics.; read full review | report as inappropriate

2/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Sep-04-2002; When journalism isn't scholarship; On the face of it, Marcus Tanner's history of Ireland's religious conflicts looks impressive. Although Tanner is an English journalist, his book is published by a leading university press, it possesses 39 pages of notes to 431 of text,...; read full review | report as inappropriate