As we are in a semester break, I am here to do service. Here are my personals on the major texts available. I teach an Irish history survey each year, cross-listed as an undergrad and grad level course. I am rendering opinions in the light of their suitability for the modern Irish history courses mentioned so far.

1. THE COURSE OF IRISH HISTORY by Moody and Martin. Recently out in a slightly updated version with an outstanding chronological appendix and a thorough, albeit not always current, bibliography. I assign this as the basic text for a 300/500 level course "The History of Ireland" and am resonably happy with it although its level of analysis and its "weight" are not totally satisfactory. It is readable, if stodgy, and it has illustrations which help. Its exploration of modern Ireland is pretty good but the structure overall, with different authors for the various chapters, does not render a lot of coherence.
2. IRELAND AND THE IRISH by Karl Bottigheimer. Good text, especially for those with little background; it is weighted most heavily around the early modern period (reflecting its author's interests). It lacks the appendices and biblio of Moody and Martin but is insightful in its analysis. Good balance between political and social history, less strong on intellectual/cultural history. Weak on pre-modern Ireland.
3. NINETEENTH CENTURY IRELAND by D. George Boyce; TWENTIETH CENTURY IRELAND by Dermot Keogh. Thorough, sophisticated, well balanced, up to date. Good analysis and bibliographies. Boyce's book could use a bit more social and cultural history to my mind, but its political analysis is first rate.
4. A SHORT HISTORY OF IRELAND by John O'Beirne Ranelagh. This book surprised me. About 250 pages or so, it is really quite well done although it surely needs revision to reflect more current research if it is still available. Concise and admirably so. Skimpy biblio as I recall.
5. IRELAND SINCE THE FAMINE by F.S.L. Lyons. Dated as it is, it has an exhaustive bib and is an exhaustive work to boot. I would uphold this as the great work of modern Irish historiography and essential in virtually every way. I am not sure about its suitability for a standard class text but it is an absolute must for grad students of course.
6. FROM COLONY TO NATION STATE by L. McCaffery. Good but heavy on political analysis and weak elsewhere. Readable and with a good bibliography, it does not, as Lyons does not, really cover the essential period described. It is dated too and I think it to be out of print.
7. MODERN IRELAND by R.F. Foster. Provocative and endlessly so, this should be a book to follow 1-5 above. It assumes much on the part of its reader but does masterfully weave together analysis and narrative. It is a self-consciously revisionist work however, and like others of its ilk, must be read as an adjunct to previous scholarship. Its little footnoted biographies is very helpful.
8. THE IRISH EXPERIENCE by T. Hachey, et. al. A very political history of modern Ireland. It is very sketchy and unsatisfactory if one is using it at all for pre-modern Ireland. Good bibliography.
9. IRELAND 1918-? by J. J. Lee. Exhaustive and well written, albeit dryly, this is the most thorough work of this period and I would think superceded John Murphy's IRELAND IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. It does not, of course, cover the nineteenth century stuff nor really pre-Rising material either.
10. THE MAKING OF MODERN IRELAND, 1603-1923 by J.C. Beckett. Heavily political history, I think this has come out in a revised version of late which I have not seen. It was in need of revision even when it did an admirable, workmanlike job covering the political to and fro.

I have made no references to other works such as that by E.R. Norman and Dorothy MacCardle because they are either out of print or tendentious and too specific for the course described. Also included in that list would be J.J. Lee's THE MODERNIZATION OF IRISH SOCIETY.

Sean Farrell Moran, Ph.D.
Dept of History
Oakland University
moran@vela.acs.oakland.edu

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