The Ancient Ireland Guide

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Ireland features some of Europe's most significant antiquities, such as its passage tombs, ring forts, castles, Neolithic settlements and monastic sites. This guide explores the mythology and history of the country, as well as including suggestions for the best places to stay, eat and sleep.

This amazing book is well-researched, with years of research of historical and archaeological detail, legends and folklore, and current information on earth energies for each site. Before the author's rediscoveries, most of the vast number of ancient sites were unknown or almost forgotten except by locals.

From ancient bloody battles and colonial conquests to the Industrial Revolution and Beatlemania, this visual guide leads you through major moments in British and Irish history. Discover the pivotal political, military, and cultural events that shaped British and Irish history, from the Stone Age to the present day. Combining over 700 photographs, maps, and illustrations with accessible text, History of Britain and Ireland is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to learn more about the British Isles. Spanning six distinct periods of English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish history, the book tells you how Britain transformed with Norman rule, fought two World Wars in the 20th century, and finally came to terms with a new status in a fast-changing economy. This comprehensive volume places key figures – from Alfred the Great to Winston Churchill – and major events – from Caesar's invasion to the Battle of the Somme – in their wider context. This makes it easier than ever before to learn how certain charismatic leaders, political factions, and specific events influenced Britain and Ireland's development through the Age of Empires and into the modern era. Beautifully illustrated, History of Britain and Ireland is sure to delight history buffs of all ages.

In Ireland, the link between place and myth is strong, and there is no more enlightening way to understand the rich tapestry of Irish mythology, and its relationship to our true history, than by reading the landscape. Earthing the Myths is an engaging and exhaustive county-by-county guide to the vast number of fascinating places in Ireland connected to myth, folklore and early history. Covering the period 800 BC to AD 650, this book spans the Late Bronze Age, the Iron Age and the early Christian period, and explores the ways in which the land evolved, and with it our catalogue of myths and legends. Smyth chronicles sites the length and breadth of the country, where druids, fairies, goddesses, warriors and kings all left their mark, in tales both real and imagined. With over one thousand locations recorded, from Rathlin Island to the Beara Peninsula, Earthing the Myths breathes life into places throughout Ireland that find their origins in our pre-Christian and pre-Gaelic past, and shows that they still possess unique wisdom and vibrant energy.

This engaging book traces the history, archaeology, and legends of ancient Ireland from 9000 B.C., when nomadic hunter-gatherers appeared in Ireland at the end of the last Ice Age to 1167 A.D., when a Norman invasion brought the country under control of the English crown for the first time. So much of what people today accept as ancient Irish history—Celtic invaders from Europe turning Ireland into a Celtic nation; St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland and converting its people to Christianity—is myth and legend with little basis in reality. The truth is more interesting. The Irish, as the authors show, are not even Celtic in an archaeological sense. And there were plenty of bishops in Ireland before a British missionary called Patrick arrived. But In Search of Ancient Ireland is not simply the story of events from long ago. Across Ireland today are festivals, places, and folk customs that provide a tangible link to events thousands of years past. The authors visit and describe many of these places and festivals, talking to a wide variety of historians, scholars, poets, and storytellers in the very settings where history happened. Thus the book is also a journey on the ground to uncover ten thousand years of Irish identity. In Search of Ancient Ireland is the official companion to the three-part PBS documentary series. With 14 black-and-white photos, 6 b&w illustrations, and 1 map.

In this unique guide to Britain's megalithic culture, rock n' roller Julian Cope provides an inspired fusion of travel, history, poetry, maps, field notes, and pure passion.