Irish History Books

1. The disappeared

by Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc

€19.99

The spectre of 'the Disappeared', those abducted, secretly executed and their bodies buried in remote locations, has overshadowed the debate around the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland for the last two decades. Yet what most people don't realise is that 'forced disappearances' have been part of violent political conflicts in Ireland for over 200 years. This groundbreaking book, the first of its kind, looks at the history of this practice in Ireland and identifies all known victims over the last century, from the North King Street Massacre in 1916 right up to 2003. Ó Ruairc cuts through the exaggeration and myth that pervade the popular history of the 'Good Old IRA' to prove that this organisation was particularly ruthless in using this course of action during the War of Independence and Civil War, much more so than their successors in the Provisional IRA or the British forces in Ireland. The author also reveals how his research has helped locate several bodies of those long missing, one of which has already been recovered and given a proper burial. Behind each disappearance there is the story of a life cut short and a family left searching for answers. Ó Ruairc deftly incorporates this human element, preserving the memory of those who were disappeared on both sides of the conflict.

2. The kidnapping

by Tommy Conlon

€16.99 €23.80

'Riveting . . . a triumph . . . intertwining personal narratives with wider themes of remembrance, loss, courage and blame' Gary Murphy, Irish Examiner November 1983. Early morning in suburban south Dublin. Businessman Don Tidey is snatched from his car and the IRA has its latest kidnap victim. Weeks later he is tracked down to an isolated Leitrim wood, but in saving Tidey's life a recruit garda and a soldier lose theirs. The Kidnapping is a brilliantly reported account of this landmark event by two accomplished journalists and Leitrim natives. Delving deep, they provide a chilling account of the lead-up to Tidey's abduction, the massive manhunt that followed, his bloody rescue, the botched attempts to capture his abductors and the devastating fall-out - personal and national - that followed. At the heart of The Kidnapping revealing interviews with Don Tidey - speaking about his experience in detail for the first time - and with the families of Garda Gary Sheehan and Private Patrick Kelly, provide a startling and moving testimony of the lasting impact of these traumatic events. It is both a gripping read and one that raises profound questions for today's Ireland. 'Vividly written, deeply insightful, extremely timely' Business Post 'A fascinating read . . . beyond that, it's an important document' Mick Clifford, The Mick Clifford Podcast 'A harrowing story . . . [but] an enjoyable book' Irish Mail on Sunday 'An important reminder of our imperfect, contentious past' Tommy Gorman, Irish Times 'Vivid . . . [shows] a deep understanding . . . insightful and emotional' Sunday Independent 'A major page-turner . . . fascinating' Nicola Tallant, Crime World podcast

3. Finucane and me

by John Clarke

€21.99 €24.99

Marian Finucane was a trailblazing broadcaster, the first to champion women's issues on air, and respected for her fairness, empathy and doggedness. One of a small group of Irish people known simply by their first name, the nation mourned when she died suddenly, aged 69, in January 2020.   But John Clarke, Marian's widower, doesn't use her eponymous moniker - instead, he calls her 'Finucane'. It highlights the gap between the woman so many felt they knew and the woman he loved - the real Marian - who was by turns curious, fiery, emotional, stubborn, charming and endlessly excited by life.   When John and Marian first got together, they promised each other that they'd never be boring. What ensued was forty years of conversation and thousands of miles travelled. Finucane & Me is an unexpected love story: the story of two people who 'made a pact for madness'; the story of a never-ending search for meaning; the story of two people who lived life to its fullest.

4. Lamplighters Of The Phoenix Park H/B

by James Flanagan

€23.99 €32.20

The Phoenix Park in Dublin holds a special place in the collective memory of Irish people. From the assassinations of 1882 and the destruction of several imperial monuments, to the arrival of Douglas Hyde as Ireland's first president and Pope John Paul's 1979 visit, it has been at the centre of Irish society for centuries. But the park is also part and parcel of daily life for many Dubliners - none more so than the Flanagan family, who have been lighting the gas lamps within its walls since 1890. Here, historian Donal Fallon speaks to brothers Frank and James Flanagan, lamplighters of the park, to give us a snapshot of a fading tradition, and a unique history of one of Ireland's most beloved places. With stunning photographs, historical events and personal stories, The Lamplighters of the Phoenix Park shines a light on the park at the centre of our national identity, through the prism of this singular family, whose histories have been intertwined for more than 150 years

5. Old Ireland In Colour 3 H/B

by John G. Breslin

€22.99 €24.99

John Breslin and Sarah-Anne Buckley are back with the third installment of their record-breaking Old Ireland in Colour series. The authors have uncovered yet more photographic gems and breathed new life into them in glorious colour.

6. John Hume The Persuader H/B

by Stephen Walker

€27.99

Peacemaker, politician, Nobel laureate: John Hume was a titan of Irish political history and a key architect of the Good Friday Agreement, bringing peace to Northern Ireland after decades of conflict. But who was the real John Hume? What motivated the former history teacher to reach beyond political lines? What sustained him during the bloody years of violence and how did he convince the IRA to end its long-running campaign? How did he persuade presidents and prime ministers to take risks and back his vision for Northern Ireland? How should John Hume be remembered? Stephen Walker combines over 100 interviews with many of Hume’s colleagues, critics and family members, with never-before-published interviews with Hume himself to present a comprehensive portrait of one of the most significant political figures in Northern Ireland and around the world.

7. Dirty linen

by Martin Doyle

€23.99 €24.99

Martin Doyle, Books Editor of The Irish Times, offers a personal, intimate history of the Troubles seen through the microcosm of a single rural parish, his own, part of both the Linen Triangle - heartland of the North's defining industry - and the Murder Triangle - the Badlands devastated by paramilitary violence. He lifts the veil of silence drawn over the horrors of the past, recording in heartrending detail the terrible toll the conflict took - more than twenty violent deaths in a few square miles - and the long tail of trauma it has left behind. Neighbours and classmates who lost loved ones in the conflict, survivors maimed in bomb attacks and victims of sectarianism, both Catholic and Protestant, entrust Doyle with their stories. Writing with a literary sensibility, he skillfully shows how the once dominant local linen industry serves as a metaphor for communal division but also for the solidarity that transcended the sectarian divide. To those who might ask why you would want to reopen old wounds, the answer might be that some wounds have never been allowed to heal.

8. History of Ireland in maps

by Pat Liddy

€23.99 €35.00

Explore Ireland's fascinating story with more than 100 maps. From the early history of the Emerald Isle to the modern day, Ireland has evolved rapidly - along with the ways in which it has been mapped. Cartography has not only kept pace with these changes, but often driven them. Combining the artistic world of early cartography with modern computerised surveys, this is a beautiful and unique addition to any map- or history-lover's collection. Irish author and historian Pat Liddy produces an invaluable history of Ireland and its relationship with its neighbours, and indeed, the world. Featured maps include: Ptolemaic Map of Ibernia, 15th centuryMercator's Irlandiae Regnum, c. 1560Battle of Kinsale, 1601John Speed's Map of Ireland, 1610Down Survey, 1683Siege of Londonderry, 1689Survey of Dublin Bay, 1800INFOMAR's Map of the Seabed, 2019 Other books in the Collins History in Maps series: History of War in Maps by Philip Parker (ISBN 9780008506490)History of World Trade in Maps by Philip Parker (ISBN 9780008409296)

9. The colour of Ireland. Volume 2 Bringing Ireland's past to life, 1880-1980

by Rob Cross

€20.99 €30.80

Breathing new life into Ireland's history once again, this carefully restored and colourised collection of wonderful black and white images captures the beauty of the nation's fascinating past. This sequel to the bestselling The Colour of Ireland presents a huge variety of captivating images from the 32 counties, from Dublin to Galway and Antrim to Cork, and inspires a new vision of Ireland's heritage. With incredible attention to detail, author Rob Cross has gained a worldwide following by using cutting-edge technology and careful historical research to accurately depict the colours of Ireland's history and tell the stories within these rich images. It's a collection to treasure, enjoy and reflect on for years to come.

10. A Nation is Born

by Michael B. Barry

€26.99

A Nation Is Born celebrates a formative period in the history of the Irish state: the fifteen years during which we emerged from the rubble of wars and violence and set up as a fledgling country while establishing a diplomatic presence on the world stage.   The photos presented here have been painstakingly hand-colourised by photographer John O'Byrne, infusing energy into this often-overlooked time: the election of the country's first governments; the mammoth Shannon hydroelectric scheme; a stunning Eucharistic Congress; scenes of cottage industry and rural Irish life; and ending with the uncertain rumblings of war in Europe.   With over 150 photographs gathered from archives around the country, accompanied by insightful and accessible commentary by historian Michael B. Barry, A Nation Is Born brings a fresh perspective on our history and our past to life in a compellingly real way.

11. An eye on Ireland

by Justine McCarthy

€20.99 €28.00

'For those of us around from the beginning, this collection jolts like jump-leads to the complacent heart. For the many who were not, dive into these columns from an Ireland of not so long ago. It's an eye-opener.' MIRIAM LORD FOR FOUR DECADES, Justine McCarthy's fearless journalism and commentary has challenged stereotypes and held power to account as she, in her own words, 'grew up alongside my country'. The book opens with an extended piece of new writing in which Justine describes her formative years and entering the male-dominated Irish newspaper culture in the 1980s, a time when a woman getting too many bylines could, and did, lead to a National Union of Journalists bar. From Mary Robinson making history as Ireland's first female president to a present-day RTÉ in crisis, over thirty years of stories are collected here. In her long career, Justine broke child sexual abuse scandals and reported from the frontline of the Northern Ireland Troubles; she covered the major reforming referenda, documented political turmoil and charted the role of Ireland on the world stage. She followed the times the country let down its people, through its ailing health system, its legal system, the domination of the church, and its treatment of women. An Eye on Ireland maps a transformative era in Irish life towards a more progressive and just society, and one woman's extraordinary career at the forefront of change.

12. The Long Game TPB

by Aoife Moore

€19.99 €25.20

Sinn Féin is the most popular political party in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. A party once synonymous with a paramilitary campaign is on the brink of taking real power through purely democratic means. But if Sinn Féin has mastered the art of electoral politics, it remains strangely opaque. Who really runs the party? How is it funded? And what can we expect of it as a party of government? Aoife Moore, Irish Journalist of the Year 2021, explores these and other burning questions in The Long Game. Drawing on exclusive interviews with current and former members of Sinn Féin, she builds up a picture of a party undergoing a profound, and still incomplete, transformation. She looks at the key individuals and moments that put the party on its present course, and she explores tensions within the party and the wider republican movement. Packed with revelatory details, The Long Game is a groundbreaking telling of contemporary Ireland's biggest and most elusive political story.

13. A lethal legacy

by Finbar Dwyer

€16.99 €23.80

From the creator of The Irish History Podcast comes a fascinating look at Irish history through the lens of murder. In A Lethal Legacy, Fin Dwyer charts 200 years of Irish history, opening up our past as never before, by observing the grand societal changes of our times through the intimate lens of eighteen murders and the lives and communities they altered forever. From the creator of the critically acclaimed Irish History Podcast comes a ground-breaking exploration of the past, casting its gaze beyond the chambers of power and carnage of battle, and into the lives of the everyday people that lived through those violent centuries. From the desperate retributions of the Land War of the nineteenth century, through the unprecedented tumult of the revolutionary years, to the causes that helped to shape contemporary Ireland, these previously overlooked cases of human tragedy offer a fresh perspective on a history we think we know. Astonishing, illuminating and compelling, A Lethal Legacy chronicles Ireland's turbulent past through one of our most enduring fascinations - the act of killing - and in mapping the causes and aftermath of these cases, Dwyer offers us a fresh new understanding of the fires that forged modern Ireland.

14. Stakeknife's dirty war

by Richard O'Rawe

€17.99 €18.99

In this sensational exposé of British Intelligence’s top informer in the upper ranks of the IRA, Richard O’Rawe delivers the most definitive account yet of the Troubles’ most enigmatic, notorious and sinister figure, Freddie Scappaticci. Codenamed Stakeknife, from the late 1970s through to his eventual exposure in 2003 he was the ‘jewel in the crown’ of a British infiltration system designed to cause mayhem and chaos in the IRA’s military operations. O’Rawe gained unprecedented access to Scappaticci’s former comrades, who reveal extraordinary details of the inner workings of the IRA’s Internal Security Unit. Headed by Scappaticci, this secretive group was known locally as the ‘Nutting Squad’ owing to its fearsome reputation for the abduction, interrogation, torture and execution of volunteers suspected of working for the British or the RUC. The political scandal at the heart of this story is that Scappaticci’s intelligence handlers were aware of almost every abduction and execution he carried out prior to it taking place; a scandal that became the subject of the British government-sponsored inquiry, Operation Kenova. In this compelling and extraordinary story of state-sanctioned murder and extreme moral ambiguity in the overriding quest for the protection of ‘national security’, the truth is truly stranger than fiction.

15. Rough beast

by Mairia Cahill

€16.99 €23.80

NUMBER 1 BESTSELLER IN THE IRISH NON-FICTION CHARTS "Rough Beast is shocking, important and unputdownable." Roddy Doyle Rough Beast is Máirìa Cahill's harrowing story of her life and of what she went through at the hands of what is now Ireland's largest and richest party. That story is told here for the first time in full detail and with unsparing honesty. It is a story of unimaginable trauma and political corruption. It brings to life a world of paramilitary secrecy and parallel laws, but above all it is the story of one young woman's defiance of the power wielded by ex-gunmen inspiring fear and silence, and their influence over elected politicians. Máirìa Cahill grew up steeped in the traditions of Irish republicanism and the shadowy world of the IRA: her great-uncle Joe was one of the main founders of the Provisional IRA and her grandfather was Gerry Adams's mentor in the republican movement. From an early age she seemed destined for a glittering career within the increasingly successful political machine of Sinn Féin, which was then enjoying the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement. She worked in a radio station alongside leading republicans; the Sinn Féin offices were her second home. She knew Gerry Adams and other senior republicans as family friends. But at the age of 16, she was sexually abused by a prominent Belfast IRA man. When she confided in some friends she trusted about the abuse, one of them told the IRA without Máirìa's knowledge. A year later the organisation came calling, and forced her to take part in an inept and grotesquely insensitive internal investigation. She was subjected to round after round of interrogations by senior IRA men and women, usually in a network of safe houses around Belfast. Doubt was cast on her account of what had been done to her. Her assailant was allowed to confront and denounce her. Eventually her rapist was permitted to vanish from Belfast while Sinn Féin and the IRA professed bafflement about his whereabouts.

16. Say nothing

by Patrick Radden Keefe

€12.75 €15.95

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING ONE OF DUA LIPA'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 'The best book I've read for a while, it's fantastic' John Oliver 'A must read' Gillian Flynn One night in December 1972, Jean McConville, a mother of ten, was abducted from her home in Belfast and never seen alive again. Her disappearance would haunt her orphaned children, the perpetrators of this terrible crime and a whole society in Northern Ireland for decades. In this powerful, scrupulously reported book, Patrick Radden Keefe offers not just a forensic account of a brutal crime but a vivid portrait of the world in which it happened. The tragedy of an entire country is captured in the spellbinding narrative of a handful of characters, presented in lyrical and unforgettable detail. A poem by Seamus Heaney inspires the title: 'Whatever You Say, Say Nothing'. By defying the culture of silence, Keefe illuminates how a close-knit society fractured; how people chose sides in a conflict and turned to violence; and how, when the shooting stopped, some ex-combatants came to look back in horror at the atrocities they had committed, while others continue to advocate violence even today. Say Nothing deftly weaves the stories of Jean McConville and her family with those of Dolours Price, the first woman to join the IRA as a front-line soldier, who bombed the Old Bailey when barely out of her teens; Gerry Adams, who helped bring an end to the fighting, but denied his own IRA past; Brendan Hughes, a fearsome IRA commander who turned on Adams after the peace process and broke the IRA's code of silence; and other indelible figures. By capturing the intrigue, the drama and the profound human cost of the Troubles, the book presents a searing chronicle of the lengths that people are willing to go to in pursuit of a political ideal, and the ways in which societies mend - or don't - in the aftermath of a long and bloody conflict.

17. The Murderer and the Taoiseach TPB

by Harry McGee

€15.99 €22.40

A Murderer. A Leader. The Scandal of an Era.'Reads like a thriller but is sadly all too true ... a brilliant account of shockingcrimes and the dramatic political crisis they caused' David McCullaghThe summer of 1982 was long-seared into the Irish public imagination for more than justits record high temperatures. That July, an aristocrat named Malcolm Macarthur went on abrutal killing spree, taking the lives of two innocent young people - Bridie Gargan andDónal Dunne - in a doomed plan to remedy his financial woes.A massive manhunt was launched and, in a sensational turn of events, Macarthur wascaptured in the home of the State's top law officer, Attorney General Patrick Connolly.The scandal attracted worldwide headlines and resulted in untold damage to TaoiseachCharles Haughey. The words he used to describe the dark events - grotesque,unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented - coined the era-defining phrase GUBU.In The Murderer and the Taoiseach, award-winning political journalist and GUBU podcast maker Harry McGee retraces the happenings of that long hot summer and beyond. Fromthe cat-and-mouse game to track down an unpredictable killer to Macarthur'sextraordinary capture, he considers both the life and psyche of a murderer, and that ofthe leading political figure of the time - a man similarly driven by greed, status and asense of himself as existing above the law.Including previously unknown aspects of the trial and interaction with Malcolm Macarthurhimself, The Murderer and the Taoiseach is a compulsive journey through tragedy andscandal.'Brisk, illuminating, crackling with detail' Tony Connelly'An incredible and compelling story' Matt Cooper

18. A Year of Glory and Gold: 1932 - Ireland’s Jazz Age

by Kevin Corrigan Kearns

€24.99

The 1930s in Ireland is often remembered as a bleak period of economic stagnation and unemployment. But, 1932, hailed by the Irish Press as a ‘new era’, was an early glimmer of the modernity that Ireland would later reach, with key events including Olympic gold medals and the rise of Jack Doyle, the Eucharistic Congress, a so-called gold rush and the election of Éamon de Valera, all hinting at Ireland’s future success.The soundtrack scoring all this change was the jazz craze, loosening the conservative moral order of the time. Bringing new forms of dress, lifestyle and behaviour, it excited a younger generation for the future, while leaving an older generation wary of such rapid change. A Year of Glory and Gold is an energetic biography of a bright year in Ireland’s history, combining deep archival research with spirited storytelling by one of Ireland’s best-loved social historians.

19. The twelve apostles

by Tim Pat Coogan

€10.43 €13.05

Ireland, 1919: When Sinn Féin proclaims Dáil Éireann the parliament of the independent Irish republic, London declares the new assembly to be illegal, and a vicious guerilla war breaks out between republican and crown forces. Michael Collins, intelligence chief of the Irish Republican Army, creates an elite squad whose role is to assassinate British agents and undercover police. The so-called 'Twelve Apostles' will create violent mayhem, culminating in the events of 'Bloody Sunday' in November 1920. Bestselling historian Tim Pat Coogan not only tells the story of Collins' squad, he also examines the remarkable intelligence network of which it formed a part, and which helped to bring the British government to the negotiating table.

20. Michael Collins

by Tim Pat Coogan

€12.75 €15.95

'The unofficial voice of modern Irish history' Economist When President of the Irish Republic Michael Collins signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921, he remarked to Lord Birkenhead, 'I may have signed my actual death warrant.' In August 1922 at the height of the Irish Civil War, that prophecy came true - Collins was shot and killed by a fellow Irishman in a shocking political assassination. So ended the life of the greatest of all Irish nationalists, but his visions and legacy lived on. This authorative and comprehensive biography presents the life of a man who became a legend in his own lifetime, whose idealistic vigour and determination were matched only by his political realism and supreme organisational abilities. Coogan's biography provides a fascinating insight into a great political leader, whilst vividly portraying the political unrest in a divided Ireland, that can help to shape our understanding of Ireland's past, present and future. 'There have been several other lives of Collins, but none has assembled such wealth of detail' Independent on Sunday

21. Between two hells

by Diarmaid Ferriter

€12.75 €15.95

THE IRISH BESTSELLER 'Ferriter has richly earned his reputation as one of Ireland's leading historians' Irish Independent 'Absorbing ... A fascinating exploration of the Civil War and its impact on Ireland and Irish politics' Irish Times In June 1922, just seven months after Sinn Féin negotiators signed a compromise treaty with representatives of the British government to create the Irish Free State, Ireland collapsed into civil war. While the body count suggests it was far less devastating than other European civil wars, it had a harrowing impact on the country and cast a long shadow, socially, economically and politically, which included both public rows and recriminations and deep, often private traumas. Drawing on many previously unpublished sources and newly released archival material, one of Ireland's most renowned historians lays bare the course and impact of the war and how this tragedy shaped modern Ireland.

22. The stolen village

by Des Ekin

€13.49 €14.99

In June 1631 pirates from Algiers and armed troops of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, led by the notorious pirate captain Morat Rais, stormed ashore at the little harbour village of Baltimore in West Cork. They captured almost all the villagers and bore them away to a life of slavery in North Africa. The prisoners were destined for a variety of fates -- some would live out their days chained to the oars as galley slaves, while others would spend long years in the scented seclusion of the harem or within the walls of the Sultan's palace. The old city of Algiers, with its narrow streets, intense heat and lively trade, was a melting pot where the villagers would join slaves and freemen of many nationalities. Only two of them ever saw Ireland again. The Sack of Baltimore was the most devastating invasion ever mounted by Islamist forces on Ireland or England. Des Ekin's exhaustive research illuminates the political intrigues that ensured the captives were left to their fate, and provides a vivid insight into the kind of life that would have awaited the slaves amid the souks and seraglios of old Algiers. The Stolen Village is a fascinating tale of international piracy and culture clash nearly 400 years ago and is the first book to cover this relatively unknown and under-researched incident in Irish history. Shortlisted for the Argosy Irish Nonfiction Book of the Year Award

23. An unsung hero

by Michael Smith

€13.49 €14.99

Tom Crean was the indestructible farmer's son from Kerry who sailed on three major expeditions to the unknown Antarctic over a century ago. He was among the few men who served with both Captain Robert Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton. He spent longer on the ice than either and outlived them both. Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary said he was a 'great man of immense strength and endurance and afraid of very little'. Crean was among the last to see Scott alive a few miles from the Pole in 1912. His astonishing 56km trek to save the life of Lt Evans is the finest act of individual heroism in the history of exploration. He returned to the ice months later to bury Scott. Crean was at the heart of historic events on Shackleton's epic Endurance expedition, which featured the 1,200km open boat journey and the desperate march across the mountains and glaciers of South Georgia to rescue marooned comrades. But Tom Crean returned to Ireland during the War of Independence and would never speak about his exploits, taking his incredible story to the grave - until publication of An Unsung Hero, the biography that unearthed his story and saw him rightfully placed among the annals of the great explorers. This newly illustrated edition of the bestselling classic is a must for anyone with a taste for adventure.

24. Listen To The Land Speak

by Manchán Magan

€20.69 €22.99

Irish Book Awards Shortlist 2022 Odgers Berndtson Non-fiction Book of the Year Our ancestors developed a uniquely nature-focused society, centred on esteemed poets, seers, monks, healers and wise women who were deeply connected to the land. They used this connection to the cycles of the natural world - from which we are increasingly dissociated - as an animating force in their lives. In this illuminating new book, Manchan Magan sets out on a journey, through bogs, across rivers and over mountains, to trace these ancestor's footsteps. He uncovers the ancient myths that have shaped our national identity and are embedded in the strata of land that have endured through millennia - from ice ages through to famines and floods. Here, the River Shannon is a goddess, and trees and their life-sustaining root systems are hallowed. See the world in a new light in this magical exploration into the life-sustaining wisdom of what lies beneath us.

25. The Killing Of Father Niall Molloy

by Maresa Fagan

€15.07 €18.85

Separating fact from fiction, this book re-examines the death of a priest in 1985. The events of that night fuelled speculation and allegations of a cover-up by the State and Church. His death still remains unsolved. TV producer Sharon Lawless, and journalist Maresa Fagan, delve further into the case to test evidence and follow the money trail.

26. Three Castles Burning

by Donal Fallon

€13.99 €15.95

Eason Favourite Book of the Year 2022    'She is no small town, and this is no small story . . .' BASED ON THE POPULAR DUBLIN HISTORY PODCAST A companion to the hugely successful podcast of the same name by Donal Fallon, THREE CASTLES BURNING is an enjoyable wander through some of Dublin's less obvious but more interesting streets and roads such as Henrietta Street, Watling Street, Fownes Street and Kildare Road. On the Dublin streets we walk every day, there are hidden reminders of the lesser-known heroes and events that have contributed to the evolving story of our capital. The city's motto, 'the obedience of the citizens produces a happy city', may feel outdated and loaded today but the three burning castles of its ancient coat of arms have come to represent the indomitable spirit, creativity and vision that define this big town. Inspired by the No. 1 podcast, Three Castles Burning: A History of Dublin in Twelve Streets champions the activists, workers, architects, poets, migrants, artists and merchants who have made and remade the city we know and love by going beneath the many layers of twelve key streets where they lived and worked. Because, in the city Joyce called the 'Hibernian Metropolis', the disobedience of its citizens is the cornerstone of its past, present and future. This combination of social, cultural, industrial and commercial, and political history, through the prism of the places where revolutions great and small were sparked, offers the reader a fresh and unexpected take on Ireland's capital city.

27. Grand

by Noelle McCarthy

€16.99 €22.40

'A natural storyteller with a Sedaris-like eye for black humour. There are sharp splinters of comic relief . compelling and nuanced." Edel Coffey, Irish Times Quick-witted, charismatic and generous; angry, vicious and hurt; in pubs all over Cork City, Noelle McCarthy's mother Carol rages against her life and everything she has lost. Soon after leaving college, in the early years of the millennium, Noelle flees. Even on the other side of the world, with fame and success within her grasp, Noelle cannot escape an appetite for self-destruction. Life spirals out of control until she too is in danger of losing everything. At thirty, she pulls back from the brink. Over a decade later, Carol is dying. Finally, it seems, mother and daughter will make peace. Except Carol has no interest in admitting her own mortality - she will die as she lived, entirely on her own terms. If there is any reckoning to be done between past and present, Noelle will be doing it on her own. Grand is the deeply moving and surprisingly funny outcome of Noelle's yearning to understand her mother, and to make sense of their lives, together and apart. Most of all, it is a dazzlingly honest memoir about becoming a modern woman. _____ 2023 Non-Fiction Winner at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 'Exquisitely written . profoundly moving. And like all great memoirs it is hilarious in parts. If, like, me, you love the personal essays of Sinéad Gleeson and Emilie Pine, you'll adore this' Sunday Independent 'Desperately funny, hysterically sad, so beautiful and so humane. All of life is in it' Meg Mason 'Hooked me like a fish' New York Times 'A really vivacious account of frayed family relationships across the decades and around the world' Financial Times Podcast

28. We don't know ourselves

by Fintan O'Toole

€13.92 €17.40

The #1 Irish Times bestseller WINNER of the An Post Irish Book Awards 'A clear-eyed, myth-dispelling masterpiece' Marian Keyes 'Sweeping, authoritative and profoundly intelligent' Colm Tóibìn, Guardian 'With the pace and twists of an enthralling novel' Irish Times 'Evocative, moving, funny and furious' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times 'An enthralling, panoramic book' Patrick Radden Keefe 'A book that will remain important for a very long time' An Post Irish Book Award We Don't Know Ourselves is a very personal vision of recent Irish history from the year of O'Toole's birth, 1958, down to the present. Ireland has changed almost out of recognition during those decades, and Fintan O'Toole's life coincides with that arc of transformation. The book is a brilliant interweaving of memories (though this is emphatically not a memoir) and engrossing social and historical narrative. This was the era of Eamon de Valera, Jack Lynch, Charles Haughey and John Charles McQuaid, of sectarian civil war in the North and the Pope's triumphant visit in 1979, but also of those who began to speak out against the ruling consensus - feminists, advocates for the rights of children, gay men and women coming out of the shadows. We Don't Know Ourselves is an essential book for anyone who wishes to understand modern Ireland.

29. Four killings

by Myles Dungan

€11.59 €14.50

The story of a single family during the Irish Revolution, Four Killings is a book about political murder, and the powerful hunger for land and the savagery it can unleash. 'A vivid and chilling narrative... Confronts uncomfortable questions that still need answering' Roy Foster 'Marries acute storytelling skills with scholarship, fortified throughout by the author's wry sense of humour' Michael Heney 'Narrative history, told through a unique prism' Irish Sunday Independent 'Dungan knows his history; he also knows how to tell a story... A gem of a book' RTÉ Culture 'Sober and intelligent... Dungan does a fine job of showing that little people can make history too' Business Post Myles Dungan's family was involved in four violent deaths between 1915 and 1922. Jack Clinton, an immigrant small farmer from County Meath, was murdered in the remote and lawless Arizona territory by a powerful rancher's hired assassin; three more died in Ireland, and each death is compellingly reconstructed in this extraordinary book. What unites these deaths is the violence that engulfed Ireland during the war of independence, but also the passions unleashed by arguments over the ownership of the soil. In focusing on one family, Four Killings offers an original perspective on this still controversial period: a prism through which the moral and personal costs of violence, and the elemental conflict over land, come alive in surprising ways.

30. The Irish difference

by Fergal Tobin

€12.75 €15.95

An Irish TImes Book of the Year 'The beauty of this book is in the telling: The Irish Difference lays out its themes and chronologies with impeccable clarity, and is full of fascinating detail... Exemplary.' Irish Independent For hundreds of years, the islands and their constituent tribes that make up the British Isles have lived next door to each other in a manner that, over time, suggested some movement towards political union. It was an uneven, stop-start business and it worked better in some places than in others. Still, England, Wales and Scotland have hung together through thick and thin, despite internal divisions of language, religion, law, culture and disposition that might have broken up a less resilient polity. And, for a long time, it seemed that something similar might have been said about the smaller island to the west: Ireland. Ireland was always a more awkward fit in the London-centric mini-imperium but no one imagined that it might detach itself altogether, until the moment came for rupture, quite suddenly and dramatically, in the fall-out from World War I. So, what was it - is it - about Ireland that is so different? Different enough to sever historical ties of centuries with such sudden violence and unapologetic efficiency. Wherein lies the Irish difference, a difference sufficient to have caused a rupture of that nature? In a wide-ranging and witty narrative, historian Fergal Tobin looks into Ireland's past, taking in everything from religion and politics to sports and literature, and traces the roots of her journey towards independence.

31. Heiress, rebel, vigilante, bomber

by Sean O'Driscoll

€12.75 €15.95

'Fascinating . . . O'Driscoll's research is impressive' Ben Macintyre, The Times _____ The story behind the hit movie Baltimore , starring Imogen Poots. The astonishing story of the English heiress who devoted her life to the IRA. She grew up in a Chelsea townhouse and on a Devon estate. She was presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace as a debutante in 1958. She trained at Oxford as an academic economist and had a love affair with a female professor (who was on the rebound from Iris Murdoch). At thirty, she commenced giving her inheritance away to the poor. In 1972, the deadliest year of the Northern Irish Troubles, she travelled to Ireland and joined the IRA. Sean O'Driscoll's Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber tells the astonishing story of Rose Dugdale, who went on to become a committed terrorist, participating in a major art heist and a bombing raid on a police and army barracks; who kept a pregnancy secret for nine months in prison and gave birth there; and who ended up at the heart of the IRA's bomb-making operation during its deadly final spasms in the 1990s. Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber is both the page-turning biography of a remarkable woman and a groundbreaking account of the inner workings of a terrorist organization. _____ 'It would be hard to overstate how good this book is . . . a fantastic read' Sunday Independent 'Superb . . . an even-handed and thrilling gallop through [Dugdale's] improbable life' Daily Telegraph 'Excellent' Michael McDowell, Irish Times 'Possibly the most extraordinary book you'll read this year' Irish Examiner 'Jaw-dropping' Joe Duffy 'Well-researched' Irish Times

32. Old Ireland In Colour 2

by John G. Breslin

€22.46 €24.95

In Old Ireland in Colour 2, the much-anticipated sequel to their beloved bestseller, John Breslin and Sarah-Anne Buckley have dug even deeper into Ireland’s historical archives to uncover captivating photographic gems to bring to life using a unique blend of cutting-edge technology, historical research and expert colourisation. Old Ireland in Colour 2 celebrates more of the rich history of Ireland and the Irish from all walks of life and from all four provinces, as well as the Irish abroad, throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. From the chaos of the Civil War to the simple beauty of the islands, from the iconic to the domestic, there is something new and inspiring to be gleaned from every single page.

33. This day in Irish history

by Padraic Coffey

€13.49 €14.99

You may know all about the Easter Rising and the Good Friday Agreement, but did you know that the hypodermic needle was invented in Tallaght? Or that Dublin was the first city in the world to have a woman stockbroker, decades before London or New York? Or that the formula used to create the video game Tomb Raider was sketched on a bridge in Cabra in the nineteenth century? With one entry for every day of the year, this book marks the anniversaries of momentous events in Irish history: in politics, medicine, music, sport and innovation. In this accessible, comprehensive and authoritative book, discover the moments that have helped to shape the national identity of Ireland. 

34. An Irish Folklore Treasury

by John Creedon

€22.49 €24.99

In this people’s history of Ireland, John Creedon introduces a fascinating collection of stories from the Schools’ Collection. This treasure trove of old stories, ways and wisdom, which could have been lost for ever, was collected by schoolchildren as part of a nationwide project set up in the 1930s to preserve Irish folklore. Published here for the first time, this ‘best of’ selection includes chapters on ghost stories, agriculture, forgotten trades, schooling and pastimes. The result is an incredible arc of folk history that tells us about ourselves and how we lived long ago.

35. Lost tramways of Ireland. Dublin

by Peter Waller

€12.60

In the second volume in the Lost Tramways series to feature Ireland, the history of the trams that served Dublin and its environs are recalled.

36. The pocket Michael Collins

by Richard Killeen

€5.39 €6.99

The year 2022 sees the 100th anniversary of the death of solider and politician Michael Collins, the legendary leader of Irish republicanism. Born in Clonakilty, County Cork, in 1890, Collins joined Sinn Féin at age 18 and later took part in the 1916 Rising. In the 1918 General Election he won a seat for Sinn Féin in South Cork and was later appointed Minister of Finance in the newly formed Dáil Eireann in 1919. Following the War of Independence, in which he played an effective if at times ruthless role, Collins led the Irish delegation in London to negotiate the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which resulted in the partitioning of Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State. The Treaty would ignite civil war in Ireland, ultimately leading to Collins's assassination on 22 August 1922. Today, Collins is still seen as the man who has done more than any other to secure 'the freedom to achieve freedom' of Ireland. This is a compelling and accessible introduction to the legendary political hero.

37. The best Catholics in the world

by Derek Scally

€11.59 €14.50

The Number One Bestseller Shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards 2021 'A great achievement . . . Brilliant, engaging and essential' Colm Tóibìn 'At once intimate and epic, this is a landmark book' Fintan O'Toole When Dubliner Derek Scally goes to Christmas Eve Mass on a visit home from Berlin, he finds more memories than congregants in the church where he was once an altar boy. Not for the first time, the collapse of the Catholic Church in Ireland brings to mind the fall of another powerful ideology - East German communism. While Germans are engaging earnestly with their past, Scally sees nothing comparable going on in his native land. So he embarks on a quest to unravel the tight hold the Church had on the Irish. He travels the length and breadth of Ireland and across Europe, going to Masses, novenas, shrines and seminaries, talking to those who have abandoned the Church and those who have held on, to survivors and campaigners, to writers, historians, psychologists and many more. And he has probing and revealing encounters with Vatican officials, priests and religious along the way. The Best Catholics in the World is the remarkable result of his three-year journey. With wit, wisdom and compassion Scally gives voice and definition to the murky and difficult questions that face a society coming to terms with its troubling past. It is both a lively personal odyssey and a resonant and gripping work of reporting that is a major contribution to the story of Ireland. 'Reflective, textured, insightful and original ... rich with history, interrogation and emotional intelligence' Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times 'An unblinking look at the collapse of the Church and Catholic deference in Ireland. Excellent and timely' John Banville, The Sunday Times 'Engaging and incisive' Caelainn Hogan, author of Republic of Shame 'Remarkable ... Essential reading for anyone concerned about history and forgetting' Michael Harding 'Fair-minded ... thoughtful' Melanie McDonagh, The Times 'Very pacey and entertaining ... and it changed how I regard Ireland and our history for good. Fantastic' Oliver Callan 'Original, thought-provoking and very engaging' Marie Collins 'A provocative insight into a time that many would rather forget' John Boyne 'Challenging' Mary McAleese 'Explores this subject in a way that I've never seen before' Hugh Linehan, Irish Times

38. Cathal Brugha

by Gerard Hanley

€22.46 €24.95

Cathal Brugha's life was extraordinary: member of the Gaelic League, Irish Republican Brotherhood and Irish Volunteers; celebrated survivor of the 1916 Rising despite multiple gunshot wounds; crucial figure in the post-Rising reorganization of the Volunteers; speaker at the first sitting of Dáil Éireann; minister for defence during the War of Independence; passionate and acerbic opponent of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921; a reluctant participant in the Irish Civil War, having tried to prevent it, and that conflict's first high profile fatality in July 1922. This book chronicles Brugha's public and private life and the influences that shaped him; appraises his multi-faceted involvement in the Irish Revolution; contextualizes his relationships with contemporaries such as Michael Collins; reveals how his premature death at the age of forty-seven affected his young family and how his wife, Caitlìn, upheld his political principles by standing as a Sinn Féin TD; and reflects on how Brugha's indomitable patriotism was propagandized after his death. Based on wide research, this is a fascinating portrait of an intriguing, complex, and often misunderstood figure.

39. The handover

by John Gibney

€18.00 €20.00

This book illustrates the 1922 handover of power by the outgoing British administration to the Provisional Government of Ireland led by Michael Collins in early 1922. The handover fell between the Treaty split of January 1922 and the outbreak of the Civil War in June 1922 and is usually overshadowed by both. The book bridges this gap by telling a relatively unfamiliar but hugely important story.

40. The passenger. Ireland

by Simon Smith

€22.03 €27.55

"There is something prescient about this collection of essays.. Evocative, beautifully written."- Irish Times The Passenger collects the best new writing, photography, and reportage from around the world. Its aim, to break down barriers and introduce the essence of the place. Packed with essays and investigative journalism; original photography and illustrations; charts, and unusual facts and observations, each volume offers a unique insight into a different culture, and how history has shaped the place into what it is today.    Brimming with intricate research and enduring wonder, The Passenger is a love-letter to global travel.  IN THIS VOLUME, Catherine Dunne, Colum McCann, Mark O'Connell, and Sara Baume, among other Irish writers tell of a country striving to stay a step ahead of time.   On the centenary of the partition that split the island in two, The Passenger sets off to discover a land full of charm and conflict; a country that in just a few decades has gone from being a poor, semi-theocratic society to a thriving economy free from the influence of the Catholic Church; from a deeply patriarchal, conservative society to one that gives space to diversity, becoming the only country in the world to enshrine gay marriage in law through a referendum.   The Passenger explores Ireland's ramifications in politics, society, culture, and sport. Memory and identity intertwine with the transformations - from globalisation to climate change - that are remodelling the Irish landscape. 

41. The arms crisis of 1970

by Michael Heney

€11.59 €14.50

The number one Irish Times bestseller In 1970, Taoiseach Jack Lynch accused two cabinet ministers, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney, of smuggling arms to the IRA in Northern Ireland. The criminal prosecution that followed was a cause célèbre at the time. All the accused were acquitted, but it generated a political crisis that would be one of the major events of modern Irish history. In the fifty years since, myth and controversy has surrounded the trial and its aftermath. Michael Heney has unearthed astonishing new evidence, raising serious questions about Lynch and his relationship with Haughey. The Arms Crisis of 1970 is the first comprehensive investigation into the arms trial prosecution, and how the jury came to their verdict of acquittal. Reviews: 'An indisputable, forensic interpretation of the events of 1970... Impressive for its methodology, and is indispensable for anyone interested in what actually happened 50 years ago' Colm Tóibìn, Irish Times , Books of the Year 'Persuasive... A real life whodunnit written with the pace and drama of a political thriller' Eilis O'Hanlon, Irish Independent 'Heney strips away the lies associated with the great Irish scandal of 1970... A ground-breaking book' Diarmaid Ferriter 'Brilliant de-bunking of the myths, heroes and villains of the Arms Crisis' Mary O'Rourke, Sunday Independent

42. The bloodied field

by Michael Foley

€15.29 €16.99

On the morning of 21 November 1920, Jane Boyle walked to Sunday Mass in the church where she would be married five days later. That afternoon she went with her fiancé to watch Tipperary and Dublin play a Gaelic football match at Croke Park. Across the city fourteen men lay dead in their beds after a synchronised IRA attack designed to cripple British intelligence services in Ireland. Trucks of police and military rumbled through the city streets as hundreds of people clamoured at the metal gates of Dublin Castle seeking refuge. Some of them were headed for Croke Park. Award-winning journalist and author Michael Foley recounts the extraordinary story of Bloody Sunday in Croke Park and the 90 seconds of shooting that changed Ireland forever. In a deeply intimate portrait he tells for the first time the stories of those killed, the police and military personnel who were in Croke Park that day, and the families left shattered in its aftermath, all against the backdrop of a fierce conflict that stretched from the streets of Dublin and the hedgerows of Tipperary to the halls of Westminster. Updated with new information and photographs.

43. We go into action today at noon...

by Eamonn Duggan

€17.99 €19.99

Nearly 2,000 people gave detailed statements to the Bureau of Military History between 1947 and 1957 about their role in Ireland's fight for freedom. The statements are the recollections of many of those who participated in the 1916 Easter Rising and the War of Independence, 1919-1921.  Recently released to scholars and researchers, they allow a much broader view of what actually happened in the fateful decade that led to independence from the British Empire. They offer a remarkable window into a tumultuous era in Ireland's modern history when men and women rose up against British rule and demanded independence. The statements examined in the book reflect the views of republican men and women from all facets of society. They were urban and rural dwellers middle and working-class individuals, farmers, labourers and professionals, all of whom, came together in the pursuit of one common goal. Their statements confirm the commitment they gave to the independence cause and are testaments to the courage and determination they displayed in their efforts to achieve a free and independent Ireland.      Eamonn Duggan explores the individual contributions of these remarkable people, and what they add to the history we thought we knew. A fascinating view of a vital period in Irish history, from 1913 to Independence.

44. Atlas of the great Irish famine, 1845-52

by John Crowley

€53.10 €59.00

The great Irish famine is possibly the most pivotal event/experience in modern Irish history: in terms of mortality, it is now widely accepted that over a million people perished between the years of 1845 and 1852. This book provides readers with a broad range of perspectives and relevant insights into this tragic event.