An Irish Top Ten
A gentleman (who I've never heard of) by the name o' Frank Delaney put together a list of top ten Irish novels for The Guardian. I've read exactly two of them - The Country Girls and The Year of the French.
Thomas Flanagan's The Year of the French is an excellent historical novel centered around the events of the 1798 Rising in Ireland instigated by the United Irishmen. The title is derived from the small (approx 1000 men) French force under General Humbert that landed in Killala Bay on August 23rd - after the rebellion had largely been suppressed. Despite initial successes, Humbert was forced to surrender his command to Lord Cornwallis (of American Revolution fame); while the French were treated as prisoners-of-war the native rebels were dealt with harshly. The ultimate result of the Rising was the Act of Union, abolishing the Irish parliament and bringing Ireland into the United Kingdom.
It's been long years since I last picked up this book. The one thing that stands out most vividly in my recollections is the contrast among the Irish rebels - poor peasants and farmers ('croppies') with fading cultural memories of the old Gaelic order, inspired by prophecies foretelling the victory of the Gael over the Stranger, led by aristocrats and gentlemen inspired by the Republican ideals of the American and French revolutions. Reading The Year of the French left me with a strong impression of an uneasy alliance between these two very different worlds, an alliance that resulted of thousands of dead. Anyone who enjoys Patrick O'Brian's work will enjoy Flanagan's novel. Both authors are very skilled at immersing the reader in the late 18th/early 19th centuries.
Fun fact: The French General Humbert was later exiled by Napoleon, emigrated to the United States, and fought under Andrew Jackson's command at the Battle of New Orleans.
The topic of the 1798 Rising inspired Seamus Heaney to write Requiem for the Croppies.
Thomas Flanagan's The Year of the French is an excellent historical novel centered around the events of the 1798 Rising in Ireland instigated by the United Irishmen. The title is derived from the small (approx 1000 men) French force under General Humbert that landed in Killala Bay on August 23rd - after the rebellion had largely been suppressed. Despite initial successes, Humbert was forced to surrender his command to Lord Cornwallis (of American Revolution fame); while the French were treated as prisoners-of-war the native rebels were dealt with harshly. The ultimate result of the Rising was the Act of Union, abolishing the Irish parliament and bringing Ireland into the United Kingdom.
It's been long years since I last picked up this book. The one thing that stands out most vividly in my recollections is the contrast among the Irish rebels - poor peasants and farmers ('croppies') with fading cultural memories of the old Gaelic order, inspired by prophecies foretelling the victory of the Gael over the Stranger, led by aristocrats and gentlemen inspired by the Republican ideals of the American and French revolutions. Reading The Year of the French left me with a strong impression of an uneasy alliance between these two very different worlds, an alliance that resulted of thousands of dead. Anyone who enjoys Patrick O'Brian's work will enjoy Flanagan's novel. Both authors are very skilled at immersing the reader in the late 18th/early 19th centuries.
Fun fact: The French General Humbert was later exiled by Napoleon, emigrated to the United States, and fought under Andrew Jackson's command at the Battle of New Orleans.
The topic of the 1798 Rising inspired Seamus Heaney to write Requiem for the Croppies.
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