A Ranking of the Most Influential Irish Men and Women of All Time.
Ireland is a small island, with a small population. Yet over the centuries she has exerted an influence in the wider world out of proportion both to her size and resource. This is partly due to the people who have lived and worked in Ireland but also to the many millions who have emigrated to Britain, Europe, Australia, and the United States of America and who have maintained an intense involvement with the history and culture of their ancestral home.
Irish cultural historian, Peter Costello, has assembled a list of his most important countrymen and women, but this list is bound to arouse controversy. Should St Patrick, who was not born in Ireland, be placed first? Peter Costello argues that the new culture he brought to Ireland defined what the Irish were to become. For earlier generations Charles Parnell, ranked number three, was the uncrowned king of Ireland, but many today believe Mary Robinson, who appears in sixth position, represents what modern Ireland aspires to.
'The Irish 100' considers contributions to all aspects of Irish culture, from poets to politicians, pop stars to explorers, philosophers to scientists. It celebrate the influence of such diverse people as Patrick Sarsfield, Michael Collins, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, Sybil Connolly, Ernest Shackelton and Bob Geldof. It also cites controversial figures from the recent history of Irish politics on both sides of the divide; Ian Paisley, John Hume, Gerry Adams.
From ancient Celtic times through to today, this well-written and researched volume offers vivid and accurate portraits of the most influential Irish men and women throughout history.
