HISTORY
From Plantations to Peace Process: A History of Ireland, 1534 - 1998
SPRING HN121
Thursday
This course will address all the major events in Irish history, from the beginning of the Tudor conquest in 1534 to the opening of the peace process in Northern Ireland. The first four classes will focus on Irish history before the Act of Union of 1800, ranging from plantation policy to the penal laws. We will then look at developments in Irish nationalism from the United Irishmen and the 1798 Rebellion to the men and women of the 1916 Rising. We will look at the development of the Irish Free State, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, through discussion of the major developments in Irish politics and society.
| BELFIELD | ||
| 10 Thursdays | Sep 27, Oct 4, 11, 18, 25, Nov 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 | 7.30pm - 9.30pm |
| Fee €190 | Print Open Learning Application Form 2012.13 or ring (01) 716-7123 for Laser/credit card payment | |
Tutor Details
Dr John Cronin graduated with a PhD from the European University Institute, Florence in 2007. He has taught early-modern Irish and European History extensively. In the past he has lectured and taught in NUI Galway, UCD, the City of Dublin VEC, and in the Oscail programme in DCU, and has overseen local History projects in county Galway on behalf of FÁS. Aside from this he has published extensively on a number of aspects of early-modern Irish History. He is currently working on a book about Irish elite exiles in seventeenth-century Europe for Four Courts Press.
Reading List:
The following is a selection of recommended texts for those interested in reading further around the course content. We advise that you do not buy books in advance of the course as your tutor will discuss the list and suggest the most relevant reading for particular interests.
For the newcomer to Irish History, who wants a good basic text that will introduce them to the main themes, before they move on to more detailed texts, try any of the following:
Roy Foster (ed.), The Oxford illustrated history of Ireland (Oxford, 1989).
Seán Duffy, The Concise History of Ireland (Dublin, 2000).
T. W. Moody & F. X. Martin, The Course of Irish History (Cork, 1994).
For a more detailed survey of Irish History try any one of the following:
Thomas Bartlett, Ireland: A History (Cambridge, 2010) [E30 approx. or widely available in local libraries]
James Lydon, The making of Ireland: from ancient times to the present (London, 1998).
Further Reading (note: most of these should be freely available in your local libraries):
S.J. Connolly, Contested Island: Ireland, 1460-1630 (Oxford, 2009)
S.J. Connolly, Divided Kingdom: Ireland, 1630-1800 (Oxford, 2008). These books are easily the best surveys of the early modern period published in the last 50 years. They can be read separately or together.
Alvin Jackson, Ireland, 1798-1998: Politics and War (Oxford, 1999)
Two ‘classic’ histories are:
J.C. Beckett, The Making of Modern Ireland, 1603-1923 (London, 1966)
F.S.L. Lyons, Ireland Since the Famine (London, 1971).
Both are a little dated, but still eminently readable.
For the 20th century, two of the best studies are:
Diarmaid Ferriter, The Transformation of Ireland (New York, 2004)
J.J. Lee, Ireland, 1912-1985: Politics and Society (Cambridge, 1989)
There is also the Oxford New History of Ireland series, which is divided into several volumes. Each one covers a separate period, and is made up of discrete articles written by various historians. They have recently been re-published in paperback for a price of E35 each, and are well worth picking up for their mixture of general and specific analysis. You will certainly get them in Hodges Figgis on Dawson St, and should get them in Easons or any other large chain – or online. The volumes were written and published over a 20-year period and are not always reflective of current research, but are still invaluable as introductory surveys.
The volumes are organised as follows (we’ve only listed the volumes relevant to the course):
III: Early Modern Ireland, 1534-1691
IV: Early Modern Ireland, 1691-1800
V: Ireland Under The Union, 1801-1870
VI: Ireland Under The Union, 1870-1921
VII: Ireland, 1921-84
