The Encyclopedia of Ireland

From Booklist

This massive volume contains more than 5,000 entries by more than 900 contributors from more than 100 universities. The breadth of the work is one of its strongest features. Subjects from history, political science, science, literature, art, architecture, economics, and more receive coverage. The more than 700 illustrations are beautiful, mostly in color, and add an important dimension. The preface explains that this is one of the rare attempts to provide unitary coverage of both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Considering as a whole these two territories whose history and culture are so intertwined makes this an extremely useful volume.

One of the unique features of this book is the references from English to Irish. For example, under Cattle raid, the user is referred to Tain bo, which is the Irish term. Other notable articles include Diaspora, Environment, and Travellers, or the travelling people. Each county in Ireland and Northern Ireland receives an entry complete with a map. Famous figures from historical times to the present are well represented, from Meabh, legendary queen of Connacht, to Grace O'Malley, sea captain and pirate, to Mary Robinson, first woman president of Ireland. A subject and a general index serve as finding aids, as do the numerous cross-references. We found some dead links; for example, several entries refer the reader to Missionary activity, which does not exist. There are no bibliographies or lists of further readings.

The Encyclopedia of Ireland is an important resource on many levels. It is well written, beautifully illustrated, and massive in both physical size and content. More comprehensive than The Encyclopedia of Ireland: An A-Z Guide to Its People, Places, History, and Culture (Oxford, 2000), it is a recommended purchase for public and academic library reference collections. RBB Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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The enormous breadth of.... content will appeal to researchers and trivia fiends alike.... [T]he whole package is.... reader-friendly.