14 h 36 minAudiobook12 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 14 h 36 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What holds a people together when their history carries both achievement and loss?
The Glories of Ireland gathers writings on Irish heritage, edited by Joseph Dunn and P. J. Lennox. Its many voices build a proud portrait of a people through language, literature, history, faith and landscape. At its heart lies a simple idea: shared memory helps a nation understand itself and remember where it comes from.
This collection belongs to an early twentieth century tradition of nations telling their own stories. Its essays celebrate learning, art and endurance while remembering hardship and loss. Poetry, song and storytelling carry the spirit of Irish life through these pages. The tone is warm, proud and sometimes idealized: an invitation to encounter heritage through the voices that cherish it.
What you’ll discover
- A people's shared memory Explore the idea that remembering the past helps a people remain connected.
- Language and literary life Discover how Irish language, poetry, song and storytelling express a people's character.
- Pride beside sorrow Encounter a view of Irish history that holds achievement and hardship together.
- Many voices, one heritage Move among contributors who bring different parts of Irish cultural life into view.
- A portrait of its time Read its celebrations with an eye for their warmth, pride and sometimes idealized vision.
Who will love it
Readers who love Irish history, saints and sagas, the harp and the Book of Kells, or who trace family roots to Ireland.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Many voices make a national case
- Defeat does not end the claim
- Faith and learning survive suppression
- Monks carry learning beyond Ireland
- Knowledge survives beside the turf fire
- Native law makes order a shared concern
- Art keeps a national presence visible
- Sorrow stands beside leadership and courage
- Ireland carries its gifts into the world
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- Large print hardcover
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The Glories of Ireland in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Glories of Ireland
by Joseph Dunn (editor); P. J. Lennox (editor)
Monks sail hide boats into the unknown, scribes illuminate the Book of Kells, and a nation will not yield.
Challenging5–10 hours to read2 languages
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In short
What if a nation's story were told by thirty voices, each answering one question: what has Ireland given the world? The Glories of Ireland, edited by Joseph Dunn and P. J. Lennox, does exactly that.
The Glories of Ireland at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h 20 min6 h 35 min fast, 9 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 118,800 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Ireland's story is a long refusal to yield
Sir Roger Casement opens the book with a bold claim. He reads the whole of Irish history as one struggle against a single enemy, the invader. In his view the wars often ended in material disaster but always brought a moral gain.
His best example is Hugh O'Neill, allied with Red Hugh O'Donnell, who faced Queen Elizabeth with perhaps twenty thousand clansmen from Ulster. England had the ships, the mint and a bottomless purse. Yet for nine years the northern clans held her might at bay. The Earl of Essex himself admitted that these rebels had better bodies and a surer command of their arms than his own men.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 12 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 9 h 30 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
The Glories of Ireland. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-glories-of-ireland.
The glories of Ireland. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-glories-of-ireland
The Glories of Ireland. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-glories-of-ireland.
@book{anonymous2026glories,
title = {The Glories of Ireland},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-glories-of-ireland}
}
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What is The Glories of Ireland about?
It is a collection of essays on Irish history and culture. Topics include saints and monks, sailors, scientists, law, music, manuscripts, ruins, sport, soldiers, leaders, the Irish abroad, language, poetry, theatre and the literary revival.
Who wrote The Glories of Ireland?
Joseph Dunn and P. J. Lennox edited it, and many authors wrote the chapters. Contributors include Sir Roger Casement, Canon D'Alton, Douglas Hyde, Eleanor Hull, Shane Leslie, Alice Milligan and Michael J. O'Brien.
What does Island of Saints and Scholars mean?
It is a title Ireland earned in the early Middle Ages. Monastic schools such as Armagh, Clonmacnois and Bangor drew students from far away, and Irish monks like Columbanus and Gall founded schools and monasteries across Europe.
The author
Joseph Dunn
1872–1951 · American scholar and translator
Joseph Dunn (1872–1951) was an American academic and translator who worked on the Irish language. He taught at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. His English translation of The Ancient Irish Epic Tale Táin Bó Cúalnge was published in 1914.
More by Joseph Dunn (editor); P. J. Lennox (editor)
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