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In this ground-breaking study, Professor Christine Kinealy incorporates recent scholarship in Irish studies to explore the key developments and
personalities that have shaped Ireland over 1500 years. In particular, she explores the role of successive waves of settlers, who came as traders, invaders, colonisers, religious refugees and, latterly, economic migrants. From the arrival of St Patrick in the fifth century, to the Good Friday Agreement in the twentieth century and its aftermath, she challenges dominant interpretations of past events, and questions both Protestant and Catholic myths about their history. She focuses on diversity: the lack of unity among the settlers; the varying response of the native peoples; the importance of women and Protestants in bringing about Irish independence; and, more recently, the divisions between and within nationalism and unionism.

A New History of Ireland provides a concise, lucid and nuanced approach to Ireland's complex history. It will appeal to anyone interested in this diverse and intriguing country.

This updated paperback edition brings the story up to the end of 2007.

CHRISTINE KINEALY is one of the leading Irish historians in the world. Currently Professor of History at Drew University in the USA, she has a PhD from Trinity College Dublin. She has lectured extensively in Europe and North America. Her previous books include Ireland: A Photohistory (Thames and Hudson, 2002) and the award-winning This Great Calamity: The Irish Famine (Gill and MacMillan, 1994).