Did an Irish monk discover America? Which rebel died of having a feckin' tooth pulled? And who in the name of Jaysus was responsible for the Pledge? If you've ever wondered how much of our rabble-rousing history is true, and how much a load of wojus oul' bull, then look no further. From the great to the gormless, this book is a hilarious parade of the life stories of Ireland's favourite heroes and gougers. Gathered in a collection of the best anecdotes from our chequered past, it will tell...

Ever lose the head when the country grinds to a halt after two centimetres of snow?Do the parish-pump politicians, perennially pathetic health services and practically useless road signs drive you to drink?Are all these and a million other maddening quirks of Irish society sapping your will to live?In the Name of Jaysus is a hilarious rant about all things exasperating, irritating and downright infuriating in Ireland today. If you're Irish – or if you just ...

The country's on fire! The Klan on the march again. Fascists organising - in America!And books are being burned.It's 1933, and James Joyce's sexually explicit Ulysses has been banned in the US for a decade. But now a hungry young publisher and an ambitious lawyer have teamed up to take on the puritans. Can they convince the judge that Ulysses is not obscene? And what will happen when Ulysses gets under their skin-...

A fascinating investigation the lives of four priest hunters – Sean na Sagart, Edward Tyrrell, Barry Lowe and John Garzia.Ireland in the aftermath of Cromwell – during this period Catholicism and Irish nationalism became inexorably linked and priests were outlawed. The Priest Hunters shines a light on these men who hunted them. Sean naSagart was Irishman who was been condemned to death for horse stealing but was reprieved on condition he become a priest hunter. Ed...

The Emerald Isle has something for everyone, from the stupendous coastline and cliffs of the Wild Atlantic Way in the west to the culture and cuisine of the Ancient East; from the castles and forts of the historic north to the famed golden beaches of the beautiful south – and not forgetting the mighty craic and decent watering holes to be found everywhere in between!Humorous information about 50 key tourist attractions in Ireland, accompanied by photographs and illustrations. A lig...

In October 1921, a delegation of the Dáil left by boat and train for London, where they were to negotiate with the British government for peace, unity and a republic. They came back with just one of those; and that peace didn't last long, as war with Britain was replaced by war with their own.Were the Irish outclassed or outgunned? Were they lied to? Did they lie to their own colleagues back in Dublin? Or did they achieve the best that could be achieved, an incremental step on the ...

Boycott - a word whose meaning is known the world over. But it once belonged to a man.Two brothers, Owen and Thomas Joyce, barely survive the horror of the great famine that devastated Ireland in the 1840s. But it left a lasting effect on both of them. Three decades later they are thrown together during the Land War, when evictions and landlord cruelty reach an intolerable level. But Thomas places his trust in the gun, while Owen backs the passive resistance advocated by the Land L...

A housing crisis, a hung Dáil and an unlikely alliance.Haughey|Gregory follows the deal made between Tony Gregory and Charles Haughey in 1982, when Gregory took a surprise Dáil seat - and suddenly found himself holding the balance of power.Dublin's Inner City is devastated by unemployment and addiction – and the planners' solution is simply to bulldoze it. But the general election results in the novice TD, Tony Gregory, holding the balance of power.

There's a million in the middle - and they might go either way.On May 22nd, 2015, the people of Ireland voted resoundingly for marriage equality - making Ireland the first country in the world to introduce gay marriage by popular vote.Little about Ireland's 20th-century history suggested that the country would find itself at the vanguard of LGBT+ rights. “Homosexual conduct may lead a mildly homosexually-orientated person into a way of life from which he may never ...

We Irish have enriched the English language with a slew of snazzy gems. Did you know we're the ones behind quarks , electrons and vectors , Sudocrem and Wellington boots? No surprise that we invented begrudgery , but croquet and Wunderkind were us too! So if some yahoo is getti...

The Irish are world masters at talking. The magic behind our silky, colourful (and non-stop) stories is a little thing called 'blarney', or 'the gift of the gab'. But what is it, you ask, and how can you get some for yourself?The hilarious A Big Pile of Blarney takes you through the history of Blarney Castle and the legend of the world-famous Blarney Stone (not to mention the famous lips that have puckered up to it). By the time you've finished reading, you too will be ove...

Do you love the taste of Red Lemonade, change into your swimming togs under a towel on the beach or find yourself admiring 'the grand stretch in the evenings'? Then this book, jammed with hilarious reflections on what it is to be Irish, will have you nodding in agreement with every turn of the page. Contains approximately 100 things that Irish people like, such as;Waving hello to complete strangers on country roads.Using the 'cupla focal' to stress our Irishness whe...