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A Short History of Ireland Part 1 cover art

A Short History of Ireland Part 1

By: Dr Jonathan Bardon
Narrated by: Frances Tomelty
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Summary

In the wake of its 30th birthday celebrations in 2006, BBC Radio Ulster marked the beginning of a new broadcasting era by embarking on the station's most ambitious project to date: a recounting of the history of Ireland.

For easy digestion, the story of the island is told in a series of 240 short documentaries - starting with the Ice Age and the arrival of the first humans through to the outbreak of the Second World War.

©2008 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2008 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
  • Original Recording Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about A Short History of Ireland Part 1

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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Fantastic history

This is well worth the time to listen to, it is well narrated, with a touch of artistic licence. My only gripe is; it is 240 episodes, and you are told so 240 times! yes 240 times, why? well it takes approximately 9 seconds to tell you, X 240 = 2160 seconds=36 wasted minutes which is why I did not give it a full and deserved 5 stars.

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40 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Not only for the Irish

For those like me who did not know much about Ireland's history this is a fascinating and revealing account that works well as an audio book.The five minute episodes are skilfully constructed and almost always contain some striking incidents and memorable characters . Occasionally the sound effects, atmospheric music or foreign accents are overdone, but generally each episode is most enjoyable to hear. The grand set pieces receive good treatment -Cromwell in Ireland, the rebellion of 1798, the great famine, Parnell- but there are also fascinating, less familiar topics: a Spaniard's account of Elizabethan Ireland, details of the Irish linen industry, the first performance of Messiah in Dublin,and many others. Sometimes perhaps colourful detail takes the place of sustained historical analysis but I'm sure that listening to these programmes will lead many to read more about what is a striking and turbulent history, and a story of which both English and Irish people should be aware. It is understandable but still disappointing that the history stops at the Second World War and so does not deal with the more recent past.

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26 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Knowledge and entertainment

I loved this audiobook. I was about to pay a rare visit to Ireland late last summer and decided I would bone up on the history of the island, as I only knew scanty bits about the rich mythology, Cromwell, O'Connell, the famine, 1916 and the like. I chose this audiobook, originally a BBC Northern Ireland series as far as I can ascertain, which I found fascinating in the detail it provides, enlightening in the scope and range of the topics covered, laudible for the excellent characterisation of the main 'players', praiseworthy for the entertaining presentation of the whole sweep of history and informative in the knowledge I have gained about the Emerald Isle. It puts the current situation in Ireland, north and south, into perspective, and I am now happy to look at some of the specific areas covered in more detail as a result of listening to this lenghthy but highly recommended audiobook.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Not only for the Irish

For those like me who did not know much about Ireland's history this is a fascinating and revealing account that works well as an audio book.The five minute episodes are skilfully constructed and almost always contain some striking incidents and memorable characters . Occasionally the sound effects, atmospheric music or foreign accents are overdone, but generally each episode is most enjoyable to hear. The grand set pieces receive good treatment -Cromwell in Ireland, the rebellion of 1798, the great famine, Parnell- but there are also fascinating, less familiar topics: a Spaniard's account of Elizabethan Ireland, details of the Irish linen industry, the first performance of Messiah in Dublin,and many others. Sometimes perhaps colourful detail takes the place of sustained historical analysis but I'm sure that listening to these programmes will lead many to read more about what is a striking and turbulent history, and a story of which both English and Irish people should be aware. It is understandable but still disappointing that the history stops at the Second World War and so does not deal with the more recent past.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely Fascinating

This is a totally fascinating audio book. I've learned so much about Ireland and it's interaction with Scotland (where I come from), England and other nations. I can't imagine learning so much from reading a book. The narrators have done a marvellous job of bringing the stories to life. The background sound effects aren't overwhelming but rather, along with the songs, help to bring the whole thing together. I wish history lessons had been this interesting at school. I did get a bit fed up listening to EVERY one of the 240 episodes being introduced by the same wee speech though. Can we have more history like this though please?

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very Very good

A great listen, but I have to agree with robert from Guernsey.... we didnt need to be told the name of the series 240 times... very annoying, as was the repeated use of the same sound effects throughout the story... but on the whole it was balanced and accurated. very very good.. wel done BBC NI

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An easy way to get into a history of a country

If you could sum up A Short History of Ireland in three words, what would they be?

Brief, descriptive,catchy.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ireland, obviously ;-)

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The history is one big scene.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not at all. It is a book divided in many brief chapters - each of them describing a period or a characteristic of Ireland. It is good to listen to it in smaller portions, which makes the facts stuck better in one's head.

Any additional comments?

This book has several good voices that can drag a listener inside the history. It is far from being dull and boring and if someone wishes to learn new and interesting facts about Ireland, this is definitely a book for him or her.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great overview of Irish History

Great overview of Irish history. Has enough depth to hold the interest of those who may know a little Irish history already but will also be great for those new to the subject. Great effort well done to the author and all involved.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great intro to irish history

this is one of my favourite audiobooks. I particularly like to choice of narrators.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Not a bad introduction

This long audiobook provides a reasonably comprehensive account of the development of Irish history up to the commencement of the Second World War. The fact that it was produced by BBC Northern Ireland has ensured that excessive emphasis is given to the Ulster experience through the centuries, yet none of what it includes is gratuitous or included solely on the basis of its northern credentials. Having said this, there are individuals and events from outside of Ulster whose impact on Irish history is greater than this production would lead you to believe; at times the geography, rather than the history, has exerted a disproportionate influence on the content.

The variety of narrators are generally easy to listen to, yet, unforgivably really, some of the pronunciation of Irish placenames, words, etc. is quite poor, requiring the listener to rewind at spots to deconstruct the multisyllabic mess and rebuild the word themselves.

Obviously a massive undertaking, this is quite a good attempt to condense Irish history into a twenty-seven hour lesson.

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3 people found this helpful