True Irish History

Weird but True Stories from Irish History: Bizarre, Shocking, and Unbelievable Tales from the Emerald Isle Ireland's past is filled with saints, scholars, and... flaming whiskey floods? Ghost ships? Phantom islands? In this captivating collection of true and historically verified tales, Weird but True Stories from Irish History explores the most bizarre, unsettling, and unexpected events ever to unfold on the Emerald Isle. From the medieval witch trial of Alice Kyteler to the whiskey-fueled infernos of Dublin and Tullamore, from ancient tsunamis and ghostly ships to the recent excavation of...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NOW AN FX LIMITED SERIES STREAMING ON HULU NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER From the author of Empire of Pain—a stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions. One of The New York...

From the ancient tales of the Tuatha Dé Danann, to the iconic events of the Easter Rising, this book takes you on a journey through the ages. Learn about the major events in Ireland's history, including the Viking invasions, the Tudor conquests, and the Great Famine. You'll gain a deep understanding of the events that have shaped this unique and vibrant country.

Based on the remarkable true story of Irish convict John Graham, WHITE SPIRIT is an epic historical adventure set in 19th Century Australia. After escaping from the notorious Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, Graham finds refuge with the Kabi, a tribe of Aborigines who eventually accept him as one of their own. Attempts to recapture Graham are orchestrated by a variety of contrasting characters working for the all-pervasive British Empire. They include Moreton Bay's tyrannical, opium-addicted commandant Lord Cheetham, the dashing yet warlike Lieutenant Hogan, native tracker Barega and the penal...

Did you know that a poet named William Drennan was the first to name Ireland the “Emerald Island”? He was referring to the green hills of Ireland’s countryside in his poem “When Erin first rose”. The countryside is what defines Ireland probably the best since, for a long time, it played a major role in the economy and culture of the nation.

In 1895, Bridget Cleary was killed by those closest to her. Convicted she had been taken by fairies and replaced by a changeling, her death has long been misremembered as folklore. In truth, it was the result of sustained domestic violence, collective belief, and a legal system that failed to protect her. Drawing on contemporary trial records, newspaper accounts, and social history, The Burning of Bridget Cleary strips away myth to examine how power, belief, and authority converged to erase a woman who resisted submission. This is not a story about superstition. It is a true-crime ...

In Paddy Whacked, best-selling author and organized crime expert T. J. English brings to life nearly two centuries of Irish American gangsterism, which spawned such unforgettable characters as Mike "King Mike" McDonald, Chicago's subterranean godfather; Big Bill Dwyer, New York's most notorious rumrunner during Prohibition; Mickey Featherstone, troubled Vietnam vet turned Westies gang leader; and James "Whitey" Bulger, the ruthless and seemingly untouchable Southie legend.

It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. In the mid-1970s, these two longtime friends take the reins of New York's Irish mob, using brute force to give it hitherto unthinkable power. Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. Mickey, whose memories of Vietnam torture him daily, is his enforcer. Together they make brutality their trademark, butchering bodies or hurling them out the window.

1975: A young Irish-American man joins an elite US Marine unit to get the most intensive military training possible—then joins the Irish Republican Army, during the days of some of the bloodiest fighting ever in the Irish-British conflict. It is a story that will see him running guns with American mobster—and secret IRA fundraiser—Whitey Bulger; running from safe house to safe house in the Irish countryside, one step ahead of British troops; fending off a recruitment offer from the CIA; and being one of the masterminds behind a campaign to take out London's electrical system.

"Christopher Klein's fresh telling of this story is an important landmark in both Irish and American history." —James M. McPherson Just over a year after Robert E. Lee relinquished his sword, a band of Union and Confederate veterans dusted off their guns. But these former foes had no intention...

These are simple yet compelling stories, told by ordinary, and some not so ordinary, people of Ireland; amazing tales, not only of ghosts, but of poltergeists, banshees, spirit-filled houses, ghostly carriages, animal spirits, and warnings of death. If you enjoy tales of the supernatural, this is a must listen.

A "gorgeous, thoughtful, heartbreaking" historical novel, The Cape Doctor is the story of one man’s journey from penniless Irish girl to one of most celebrated and accomplished figures of his time (Lauren Fox, New York Times bestselling author of Send for Me). Beginning in Cork, Ireland, the...

From New York Times reporter and Pulitzer finalist Ali Watkins, the long-buried story of how a group of Philadelphia gunrunners armed the IRA at the height of the Troubles—a true-crime saga that illuminates Irish America’s central role in the conflict and its legacy. Northern Ireland, 1975...

How much do you know about the organized crime involvement of Irish descendants in the United States? How much do you know of the impact of British rule in Ireland? Religious conflicts? The backing of parliamentary and paramilitary groups by criminal gangs? Gun-running and drug-smuggling? A History of Irish Organized Crime is the perfect book to help you develop your knowledge and learn about social history, including the current impact of Brexit on the Irish border “backstop”.

One sunlit evening, May 6, 1882, Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Burke, Chief Secretary and Undersecretary for Ireland, were ambushed and stabbed to death while strolling through Phoenix Park in Dublin. The murders were funded by American supporters of Irish independence and carried out by the Invincibles, a militant faction of republicans.

Brought to you by Penguin. Kinahan Assassins is the extraordinary story of how the killers used by Ireland’s most notorious drug gang, the Kinahan Cartel, were taken down. After an audacious assassination attempt on boss Daniel Kinahan's life, the Kinahan Cartel recruited an unprecedented...

The harrowing story of 14-year-old Kathleen who faces betrayal by a trusted family priest in a close-knit 1970s Catholic community and incarceration in an institution for "fallen women." Imagine the shame when you can't even tell the truth to those you love and they banish you to Ireland to have your baby in secret. How will poor Kathleen ever recover from her ordeal?This is a dramatic and heartbreaking story about the joys and tests of motherhood and the power of love, friendship and family ties spanning several decades. Years later, another mother, Faye, grapples with her own challenges ...

A hidden system of punishment. A theology of shame. A century of stolen lives. For over a hundred years, the Magdalen Asylums promised “rescue” and “reform” for fallen women—while operating as carceral laundries that profited from their unpaid labor and silence. THE FALLEN AND THE PENITENT: The Dark Legacy of the Magdalen Asylums exposes how this network of Catholic-run institutions quietly shaped moral expectations, family decisions, and the fate of countless girls and women in Ireland and beyond. Drawing on survivor testimony, parish records, Poor Law files, sermons, school ...

Enter a world where the veil grows thin… …and the creatures are stirring..... The True Origins of Christmas and Halloween is two books in one, an epic journey into the dark, enchanted roots of the year's most magical and mysterious winter festivals. From the shadowed rites of ancient Samhain to the blazing Yule fires of midwinter, travel through time and myth: from ancient Britain and Ireland to the Roman Empire, medieval Europe, and colonial America. Uncover a world of forgotten customs and fearsome folklore, where Gods and monsters walked among mortals. In Book One, learn all about ...

It's Belfast, 1975. The city lies under the dark cloud of the Troubles, and hatred fills the air like smoke. But Tony Macaulay has just turned 12 and he's got a new job. He's going to be a paperboy. And come rain or shine - or bombs and mortar - he will deliver. Paperboy lives in Upper Shankill, Belfast, in the heart of the conflict between Loyalists and Republicans. Bombings are on the evening news, rubble lies where buildings once stood, and rumours spread like wildfire about the IRA and the UDA.