The Story We Carry in Our Bones

“Juilene Osborne-McKnight’s book is an exhaustively researched look at Ireland—the island, the people, the history, and the myths. It’s not a dry, dusty academic text, but neither is it a romanticized, rose-tinted look at the Emerald Isle, and it’s written in a clear, concise storytelling style.”
—Stephen Rea, author of Finn McCool’s Football Club: The Birth, Death, and Resurrection of a Pub Soccer Team in the City of the Dead

“ . . . Informative and accessible. The engaging voice of a natural storyteller draws the reader into the complex tapestry of myth, magic, and historical fact that together form the true story of Ireland. This concise history, tracing Irish development from the prehistoric period forward, brings Irish history to life.”
—Prof. Thomasine Bartlett, MFA, PhD, Tulane University

More than 40 million people consider themselves Irish American, and yet most of them do not truly understand the rich cultural history of their ancestors. From prehistoric times to the emigration of the Irish to Amerikay, this broad, yet comprehensive, history gives a general overview of the deep history of Irish Americans.

The book includes such interesting topics as the four cycles of Irish storytelling, ancient Celtic legends of shape-shifting and Fair Folk, the six Gaelic languages and their relation to one another, the Gallic Wars with Julius Caesar, the Anglo-Norman invasion, the sacred ceremonies and religious beliefs of the Druids, the real story of St. Patrick, the Great Famine brought on by British involvement, the mass exodus of Irish to America, and the struggle for Irish Americans to rebuild their lives upon new soil, in an unwelcome land.