The Darkness Echoing: Exploring Ireland's Places of Famine, Death and Rebellion

Description

A hugely entertaining exploration of Ireland's historical sites with a dark side. Fizzing with curiosity and humour and revealing fascinating and unearthed stories from our past The Darkness Echoing will make us question and re-imagine who we are and where we've come from. Ireland is a nation obsessed with death. We find a thrill in the moribund, a strange enchantment in the drama of our dark past. It's everywhere we look and in all of our beloved myths, songs and stories that have helped to form our cultural identity. Our wakes and ballads, our plays and famine sites, all of them and more come together to tell ourselves and the world who we are and what we have suffered to get here. Gillian O'Brien had a beloved grandmother who tried on outfits in preparation for her wake. Always fascinated by the Irish preoccupation with death and the rituals around it, Gillian sets out to explore this intriguing habit of ours, to be compelled to celebrate the macabre and relish the darkness of own mortality. In The Darkness Echoing she tours Ireland to find our most haunted and fascinating historical sites, to discover the stories behind them and reveal what they say about Ireland as a nation. From war to revolution, famine to emigration, and finally, to death and ghosts, The Darkness Echoing travels around Ireland and through its history to examine the old, accepted narratives and bring newly unearthed stories from our past to life.

Dr Gillian O'Brien is a Reader in Modern Irish History at Liverpool John Moores University. She is the author of Blood Runs Green- The Murder That Transfixed Gilded Age Chicago and is a former Irish Research Council awardee.

Dark, mischievous ... enlightening and educating ... my history book of the year * Ryan Tubridy, RTE Radio 1 * As thought-provoking as it is informative and entertaining * Irish Times * A highly original book, academically rigorous and sharply observed * Business Post * In her Welcome is contained perhaps the greatest opening page of an Irish history book I have ever read -- Donal Fallon * Three Castles Burning * Hugely enjoyable, thought-provoking and informative ... An essential read * History Ireland *