The Catholics of Ulster: A History - Hardcover

Elliott, Marianne

3.8

35 ratings by Goodreads

9780713994643: The Catholics of Ulster: A History

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0713994649 ISBN 13: 9780713994643

Publisher: Allen Lane, 2000

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In this long-anticipated book, Marianne Elliott has succeeded in at last creating a coherent, credible and absorbing history of the Ulster Catholics - from their early medieval origins to the devolution of 1999. In the process many myths are destroyed but a picture also emerges of a history which, while in many senses quite different from the received wisdom, is with the arrival of the English and Scots a nonetheless extremely brutal and harsh one. Elliott's history is the first attempt to write an all inclusive history of one of the groups within contemporary Europe most infused with and defined by its own past. The book starts with the roots of Gaelic Ulster and ends with the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement.

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Review:

'Elliott brings new and perceptive insights' -- Belfast Irish News

'Elliott's book is a formidable achievement...balanced as well as deeply researched and forcefully written.' -- Daily Telegraph

'In this fine book, Marianne Elliott, an Ulster Catholic who has lived in England for decades, has triumphantly succeeded in showing why her people are as they are.' -- Ruth Dudley Edwards, The Times

'Marianne Elliott has written a scholarly, immensely well-documented work which, while controversial in many of its conclusions, adds immeasurably to our knowledge of a neglected community.' -- Belfast Irish News

'The Catholics of Ulster is a rich and complex work that deserves to be read not only by all students of Irish history but also by anyone with an interest in the history of Catholicism and the relationship between religion and nationalism.' -- Daily Telegraph

'This is an authoritative, fair-minded and compelling work. There have been some fine books published on Irish history over the past couple of years, but The Catholics of Ulster must surely be one of the most distinguished.' -- Jonathan Bardon, The Irish Times

'[An] important, ground-breaking work' -- Belfast Irish News

Synopsis:

There can be few European communities more soaked in their history than the Catholics of Ulster. Ulster has always been geographically a land somewhat apart from the rest of Ireland, and its harsh history has given both the Catholic and Protestant communities a unique stamp. Both communities' understanding of their past remains central to their identities, but the layers of myths, lies and half-truths which make up these understandings have had ruinous effects. In this long-anticipated book, Marianne Elliott has succeeded in at last creating a coherent, credible and absorbing history of the Ulster Catholics - from their early mediaeval origins to the devolution of 1999. In the process many myths are destroyed, but a picture also emerges of a history which, while in many senses quite different from the received wisdom, is none the less, with the arrival of the English and Scots, an extremely brutal one. At a remarkable point in Ulster's history, this book will be at the focus of a great deal of debate.

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