Recommendations from our site
“Irish intellectual life is deeply indebted to its literary culture…Joyce’s depiction is one of Ireland in the aftermath of the fall of Parnell. At the start of the 1890s, much of Ireland glimpsed the prospect of national unity based around Parnell himself, embodying a national project, whilst offering credible leadership. This, as the Portrait reflects, fell apart under the weight of sexual scandal and ensuing religious polarities. One can see all the characters participating in the Christmas dinner scene as representing different strands of contemporary Irish opinion.” Read more...
The best books on Modern Irish History
Richard Bourke, Historian
Our most recommended books
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Speeches from the Dock or Protests of Irish Patriotism
by A M Sullivan -
The Nothing Man
by Catherine Ryan Howard -
States of Ireland
by Conor Cruise O’Brien -
Making Empire: Ireland, Imperialism and the Early Modern World
by Jane Ohlmeyer -
Ten Thousand Saints
by Hubert Butler -
The Orange Order: A Contemporary Northern Irish History
by Eric Kaufmann
