Ireland's Holy Wars: The Struggle for a Nation's Soul, 1500-2000Yale University Press, 2003 M01 1 - 498 pages For much of the twentieth century, Ireland has been synonymous with conflict, the painful struggle for its national soul part of the regular fabric of life. And because the Irish have emigrated to all parts of the world--while always remaining Irish--"the troubles" have become part of a common heritage, well beyond their own borders. In most accounts of Irish history, the focus is on the political rivalry between Unionism and Republicanism. But the roots of the Irish conflict are profoundly and inescapably religious. As Marcus Tanner shows in this vivid, warm, and perceptive book, only by understanding the consequences over five centuries of the failed attempt by the English to make Ireland into a Protestant state can the pervasive tribal hatreds of today be seen in context. Tanner traces the creation of a modern Irish national identity through the popular resistance to imposed Protestantism and the common defense of Catholicism by the Gaelic Irish and the Old English of the Pale, who settled in Ireland after its twelfth-century conquest. The book is based on detailed research into the Irish past and a personal encounter with today's Ireland, from Belfast to Cork. Tanner has walked with the Apprentice Boys of Derry and explored the so-called Bandit Country of South Armagh. He has visited churches and religious organizations across the thirty-two counties of Ireland, spoken with priests, pastors, and their congregations, and crossed and re-crossed the lines that for centuries have isolated the faiths of Ireland and their history. |
Contents
The Hart of the English Pale | 15 |
It is Necessary that we Eradicate Them | 35 |
Myn Auctoritie is Litle Regarded | 51 |
The Kings Most Godlie Procedings | 74 |
The Devils Service | 90 |
Seminaries beyond the Seas | 105 |
The Scum of Both Nations | 122 |
Such Dangerous Persons | 148 |
Flags Flying and Drums Beating | 263 |
Soutaned Bullies of the Lord | 294 |
A Tendency towards Defeatism | 312 |
Most Fruitful of Mothers | 335 |
Till Boyne Rivers Run Red | 353 |
I Never Asked for a Pedestal | 380 |
A Family Quarrel | 411 |
Notes | 432 |
Other editions - View all
Ireland's Holy Wars: The Struggle for a Nation's Soul, 1500-2000 Marcus Tanner No preview available - 2001 |
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