A Short History of Ireland, 1500-2000

By: John Gibney

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

A brisk, concise, and enjoyable overview of Irish history from the Protestant Reformation to the dawn of the 21st century.

Five centuries of Irish history are explored in this informative and accessible volume. John Gibney proceeds from the beginning of Ireland’s modern period and continues through to virtually the present day, offering an integrated overview of the island nation’s cultural, political, and socioeconomic history.

This succinct, scholarly study covers important historical events, including the Cromwellian conquest and settlement, the Great Famine, and the struggle for Irish independence. Gibney’s book explores major themes such as Ireland’s often contentious relationship with Britain, its place within the British Empire, the impact of the Protestant Reformation, the ongoing religious tensions it inspired, and the global reach of the Irish diaspora.

This unique, wide-ranging work assimilates the most recent scholarship on a wide range of historical controversies, making it an essential addition to the library of any student of Irish studies.

©2020 John Gibney (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Audio messed up

Been trying to get into this book, but it’s pretty slow. It could be that I don’t find Catholics and Protestants fighting over religion very interesting. To make matters worse, the audio cuts out sometimes. It’s as if some paragraphs were cut out and you can only hear the last word or two. I’ll never know what I missed!

Informative, enjoyable read

Well done, concise.
Covers 500 years of Irish history in a balanced, concise manner.
An important read for all, especially Irish emigrants around the world.

Good summary.

Parts flow really well and some parts are a bit dry with details that are not essential to the narrative. Overall it was good.

Political history of Ireland

My motivation for listening to this audiobook is that I am planning a short travel to Dublin, and wanted to know a bit of history of the country. I found that there is a lot to learn in the book, but its focus is mostly the political history; social and cultural aspects are dealt with only as factors that influence political history.

A somewhat traditional and detailed history

Overall this is an interesting but, for an overview, at times too detailed history of Ireland. It perhaps should be called a ‘political history’ of Ireland, since the narrative here is mostly from a political perspective. There are lots of names of people and places, and dates. Often the names and dates are of minor characters or fleeting events, that ultimately had only a small impact in how the country evolved. The first section has a lot of ‘this happened, then this happened, then this happened…’ and it becomes quite tedious after a while. The audiobook narrator’s presentation echoes the monotony.
Later chapters improve quite a bit, and are much more entertaining. But throughout, it’s too much a history of what happened rather than why things happened, at least imho.
What the book misses is a narrative of what life was like for different types of people. What was a typical day like for a serf, a farmer, a farmer’s wife, a shopkeeper, a professional person, a musician, a teacher, a nun or monk, or a person of royalty, throughout the centuries? Who were the Saints and Scholars? Too much of the book focused on political events and not enough on the changes in Irish culture.
Still, despite the book not being what I’d hoped, it was quite valuable for what it was. It’s a good book for anyone wanting an overview of the political history of Ireland.

British responsibility

A balanced review beautifully read about a sad history of British persecution the results of which still with us today.

A great introduction to modern Irish history

A succinct and balanced overview of 500 years. It will make more detailed treatments of specific eras much more accessible.

Gibney threads his way through tough issues like the question of blame for the Great Famine without yield to an obvious bias. That said, even a balance view leaves the British looking like abusive imperialists.

Excellent History

As the title says, this is an excellent short history of Ireland. Worth the listen.

Accurate, concise, but lacks spark

While a good overview of the conflict, the book seems more oriented towards scholarly studies than for a casual reader. Frequent lists of dates and casualty numbers can make the events seem less impactful than the reality. If you’re looking for a lively and entertaining history, look elsewhere. Still, a solid foundation to learn more.

Great historical overview of Ireland

I’m not a history buff, just curious about the topic and I found this book very entertaining. I liked how at the end of the chapter there was a section about what historians debate about or have disagreements on. I liked the narration too. Would recommend if interested in learning about 1500-2016 Irish history.