The History of Ireland from the Earliest Period to the English Invasion [Keating's History of Ireland]

Large 6 3/4" x 9 1/2" design. Nearly three llbs. 1857 at title page. Originally composed in Irish, this an English single volume edition. Lt. olive brown ornately tooled cloth boards, gilt spine titles, moderate shelf, corner, edge; little residue to lower spine. Crisp horizontal spine titles, several bands at head and heel, vignette of lyre in shield with "Haverty" at bottom. Front and back covers feature blind-stamped design of man in flowing garments standing with lyre and leaning against frame with cross and circle atop and standing stones and King's stone in b.g. Pages generally near very good; some fox at first and last few pages. Frontispiece sepia plate with tissue guard of Celtic warriors with bows behind fortifications. Bind good, square; hinges reinforced. Beautifully signed in fountain pen at front endpaper by : "T. J. Conaty"; Thomas James Conaty was Bishop of Los Angeles from 1903 to 1915. Adjacent this is oval label for Conaty's collection: "Ex Libris, Sec. I-7, TJ Conaty, Worcester, Mass." Conaty was born August 1, 1847 in Kilnaleck, County Cavan, Ireland. Conaty had a storied career as a Catholic prelate. He was also rector of Catholic University of America in Washington DC, though this was not without controversy. Large pictorial plate with border of shamrocks in light green with detaled outline of the Emerald Isle: "The O'Driscoll Library" and "Céad míle fáilte" and "'tis a very proud thing to be Irish." Also, several place names on island (possible origins of the O'Driscolls) of Cork and Skibbereen. Small stamp inside back cover "O'Driscoll Libary, N. Hollywood." Céad míle fáilte (pronounced "kayd mee-lah fawl-cha") is Gaelic for: "a hundred thousand welcomes," reflecting Irish hospitality with roots in ancient Brehon laws and popularized in an 1830s song. Geoffrey Keating (Irish: Seathrún Céitinn; c. 1569 - c. 1644) was an Irish historian, Catholic priest and poet. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and is buried in Tubrid Graveyard in the parish of Ballylooby in Duhill. Keating was a Catholic priest from Co. Tipperary who ministered to his flock in defiance of the English Penal Laws in the early 17th century. The printing of materials in the Irish language was prohibited by England. He is said to have written his history while hiding from the English in a cave in the Glen of Aherlow. His other works include the devotional works: "The Three Shafts of Death (Trí bior-ghaoithe an bháis )" and "An Explanatory Defence of the Mass (Eochair-sgiath an Aifrinn), and a number of poems, of which "Farewell to Ireland (Slán le h-Éirinn)" and "O Woman Full of Wiles (A Bhean lán de Stuaim)" are best known. The History of Ireland was written in Irish about 1632 and was very popular and widely circulated in manuscript, printing of books in Irish being effectively prohibited by the English rulers. In it he gives a history of Ireland from earliest times until the Norman invasion of 1169 AD. His sources were mostly older Irish annals and histories, some of which are now lost, which he summarised in modern Irish in a fluent and comprehendable style. Most previous and contemporary Irish historians wrote in a very archaic and stilted language, which needed special training to read, so Keating's history became the standard version. He was also popular as he provided evidence refuting the anti-Irish propaganda of English writers, who portrayed the Irish as savages so as to justify conquest and expropriation. Features a detailed seven-page index and a Biographical index. Also, a six-page list of subscribers and other titles with summaries available from Haverty publishers. 746 pages. Insured post. Size: 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" Tall.…