Darkness Echoing

The Irish Times Top 10 Bestseller!

From war to revolution, famine to emigration, The Darkness Echoing travels around Ireland bringing its dark past to life

It's no secret that the Irish are obsessed with misery, suffering and death. And no wonder, for there is darkness everywhere you look: in cemeteries and castles, monuments and museums, stories and songs.

In The Darkness Echoing, Gillian O'Brien tours Ireland's most deliciously dark heritage sites, delving into the stories behind them and asking what they reveal about the Irish.

Energetic, illuminating and surprisingly funny, The Darkness Echoing challenges old, accepted narratives about Ireland, and asks intriguing questions about Ireland's past, present and future.

'My history book of the year' Ryan Tubridy

'As thought-provoking as it is informative and entertaining' Irish Times

'Hugely enjoyable, thought-provoking and informative ... An essential read' History Ireland

Auteur

Gillian O'Brien

Résumé
The Irish Times Top 10 Bestseller!From war to revolution, famine to emigration, The Darkness Echoing travels around Ireland bringing its dark past to lifeIreland is a nation obsessed with death. We find a thrill in the moribund, a strange enchantment in the drama of our dark past. It's everywhere we look and in all of our beloved myths, songs and stories that have helped to form our cultural identity. Our wakes and ballads, our plays and famine sites, all of them and more come together to tell ourselves and the world who we are and what we have suffered to get here. Gillian O'Brien had a beloved grandmother who tried on outfits in preparation for her wake. Always fascinated by the Irish preoccupation with death and the rituals around it, Gillian sets out to explore this intriguing habit of ours, to be compelled to celebrate the macabre and relish the darkness of own mortality. In The Darkness Echoing she tours Ireland to find our most haunted and fascinating historical sites, to discover the stories behind them and reveal what they say about Ireland as a nation.'My history book of the year' Ryan Tubridy'As thought-provoking as it is informative and entertaining' Irish Times 'Hugely enjoyable, thought-provoking and informative ... An essential read' History Ireland