Wars Of The Irish Kings

The riveting true story of how Ireland came to be, told through eyewitness accounts from a thousand years of struggle “A fascinating mixture of mythology and actual historical events. . . . Lovers of Irish and medieval literature will relish this book.”—Booklist For the first thousand years of its history, Ireland was shaped by its wars. Beginning with the legends of ancient battles and warriors, Wars of the Irish Kings moves through a time when history and storytelling were equally prized, into the age when history was as much propaganda as fact. This remarkable book tells of tribal battles, foreign invasions, Viking raids, family feuds, wars between rival Irish kingdoms, and wars of rebellion against the English. While the battles formed the legends of the land, it was the people fighting the battles—Cuchulain, Finn MacCool, Brian Boru, Robert the Bruce, Elizabeth I, and Hugh O’Donnell—who shaped the destiny and identity of the Irish nation. Brought together for the first time in one volume, Wars of the Irish Kings is a surprisingly immediate and stunning portrait of an all-but-forgotten time that forged the Ireland of today.

Robert the Bruce's Invasion of Ireland

Connecting the strategic and tactical levels of war with political actions and reactions, The Irish and British Wars, 1637-1654 is an accessible and well-documented study of the wars of Britain and Ireland in the mid 17th century.

The reign of Elizabeth I will always be remembered for the Armada. But it was the Irish, not the Spanish, who came closest to destroying the security of the Elizabethan state. Between 1560 and 1602, only superior military force -- allied with ruthless subjugation -- preserved England's throne against a succession of rebellions and uprisings throughout Ireland. This classic work by renowned military historian Cyril Falls is the crucial account of the half century that changed the course of Anglo-Irish history. The Elizabethan wars in Ireland involved the collision of two civilizations. Falls's critical work gives a vital perspective to the broad sweep of Anglo-Irish relations.