We are going on a long, mysterious journey to find out what we can about the island of Ireland...

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Winner of the Irish Children's Book of the Year (Irish Book Awards) White Raven selection 2008

The Story of Ireland
Praise for The Story of Ireland
About the Author

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The Story of Ireland

The Story of Ireland begins ‘After the Ice’ and lasts 9,000 years. It tells the story of the whole island and its people.

The book’s 27 chapters chronicle invasions, wars, Christianity, famine and a divided island, mixed with tales of Celtic head hunters, mysterious stone tombs, the Vikings, the black death, life in castles, the Titanic tragedy, music, mobiles and computers. When it ends a new story is just beginning.


With beautiful and humorous illustrations throughout, and visual jokes on each page, the history of Ireland is presented in an engaging and readable manner.

The Story of Ireland recounts the entire history of Ireland from the ice age to the present day, ties in with the school curriculum, and is excellent for school projects - this is one book that no library or classroom should be without.

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Praise forThe Story of Ireland

'This book is a significant breakthrough in the writing and presentation of history to Irish children and ought to be in every school library, if not in every home.'
INIS magazine, Spring 2008

'Filled with fun facts on everything from the Stone Age to the Celtic Tiger and is illustrated in a way that will delight children. A great gift for any curious child.'
The Irish Times

'A family must-have . . . each page is a treasure of knowledge, cleverly fragmented with illustrations, photos and brilliant cartoons that provoke the reader to dip in and be hooked!'
Irish Examiner

'Most impressive in its inventiveness, wealth of witty illustration, mixture of fun and serious history. It is great to see work of this quality from an Irish publishing house in these straitened times. This book deserves to be in every home and school.'
Sunday Independent

Robert Dunbar’s top 30 Books of the Year 2007. 'Some 9,000 years of Irish history are colourfully and humorously delineated in an ambitiously conceived and successfully executed 'story'.'
The Irish Times

'A fun way to present history to children and O’Brien are to be commended for doing a fine job in condensing 900 centuries worth of history.'
Sunday Business Post

'Deserves a place in every school and home library . . . such a quality that its appeal ought to endure for many years and many readings to come’
InTouch Magazine

'Clever, informative and above all entertaining.'
Eoin Colfer

'Written in a lively, informal style, its attractive pages are full of informative facts broken down into child-friendly, bite-sized pieces, ideal for internet-savvy modern youngsters . . . Every household in Ireland should have a copy, not to mention libraries and schools. I can’t recommend it highly enough. A triumph!'
Sarah Webb, Children’s Books Ireland, BookFest

'This is a beautifully presented book which brings the History of Ireland to life for young children. It is lively and colourful with plenty of stories, people and places.'
Mary Hanafin T.D.

'Absolutely wonderful.'
The Ryan Tubridy Show, RTE Radio One

'A sophisticated production.'
Sunday Tribune

'A joy to read and look at - bright, lively and informative.'
The Newsletter

'Some kids thought that Irish history would never be enjoyable, but that’s before The Story of Ireland was written!!! With all its funny illustrations and its cool facts, its very easy to read and makes Irish history much more interesting.'
Kilkenny People

'Without any question this is the Children’s Book of the Year.'
Irish Independent

'Every house in Ireland should have it.'
Waterford News & Star

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About the Author

In 1973 Brendan O'Brien began as presenter/reporter with the prestigious Seven Days current/political affairs programme which aired four times a week on RTÉ (Ireland's national television station). In Autumn 1975 he moved to the RTÉ Newsroom and spent three years as a journalist with the Sunday programme Newsround. This was followed by 18 months as Editor/presenter of the nightly Countrywide news programme. Then, he spent two years as a general news reporter, during which time he went to Buenos Aires in Argentina to cover the Falklands war.

Subsequently he became senior presenter/reporter with the thrice-weekly Today Tonight TV programme, where he carried out investigations into crime, political and current affairs issues, including investigations into the Provisional IRA, drug abuse, and the kidnapping of businessman Don Tidey by the IRA. He made two major documentaries on the IRA for Today Tonight, in 1984 and 1988.

Since September 1992 Brendan has been a senior presenter/reporter on the twice-weekly Prime Time, RTÉ's principal political/current affairs programme.

Awards: He has won the Jacobs Award for investigative reporting; the A.T. Cross National Media Award for Outstanding Journalism, the Sunday Independent 'Arts Award'.