Ah, Those Irish Colleens!: Heroic Women of Ireland

by Helen Walsh Folsom

Book Overview

While women in modern Western society have spent the last century fighting for equal rights, women in ancient Ireland were accorded legal equality with men. Under the Brehon Laws women had the right... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 158182355X
• ISBN13: 9781581823554
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Cumberland House Publishing
• Length: 295 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Ah, Those Irish Colleens!!

Here is the books description from the publisher: "Helen Walsh Folsom presents "Ah, Those Irish Colleens" as a collection of incredible stories describing the lives of more than a dozen Irish women of prominence or fame, including Deirdre of the Sorrows, Grace O'Malley, Marie Rue O'Brien, Mary O'Connor. Kitty O'Shea and more. Irish women were behind the scenes of most of the great events in Irish history. Reading Folsom's book gives you the story behind their influences, with thirteen women who, for better or worse, helped mold the country's history." These stories span the time from 122BC to 1953. Here are a few examples of the women featured in the book. Most had tragic lives but all had very productive and exciting lives.. The first irish colleen in this book was about Queen Mauve (122 BC ~AD 02) who was the Queen of Connaught (inherited from her father) in the western part of Ireland. One of the legends regarding her was called "Tain bo Cuailgne", The Cattle Raid of Cooley" where she gathered her warriors and went to her rival"s (her ex-husband who divorced her) land to steal cattle to help feed the poor on her lands. Then there is Grace O'Malley (1530~1603), also called Gráinne Ní Mháille one of my favorites along with Boudicea who is not in this book, unfortunately . Grace O'Malley was a famous lady pirate, she also inherited from her father the business of pirating. Grace and her crew would sail the seas and plunder the Spanish ships they came across. Grace gave birth on board her ship and 6 days later met with Queen Elizabeth I. They were rivals, both being Queens, but they had a grudging respect for each other. " Both Grace O'Malley and Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603. Two queens both rulers in parallel years over their domains. Grace was buried in the abbey she built on Clare Island and lives on still awestruck legends among the people of Connaught." quote from the book Also in the book is the story of Maude Gonne (December 1866 - 27 April 1953) , good friend and lover of W.B. Yeats. They never married as she said that she would run his writing carreer, even though he proposed at least 4 times. She was an English born Irish revolutionary, famous actress, and feminist. She was involved in the the plight of evicted people in the Land Wars. She was also active in Home Rule activities. There are ten more heroic women of Ireland, Kitty O'Shea and Bridget The Saint, to name a few depicted in this non-fiction book. The stories are written like they were fiction and very easy to read. I think after reading these stories I will want to read more about some of these wonderful strong women. I enjoyed the book a lot and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about Ireland and its legends and true stories of the turbulent times that all people of Ireland faced in some of the 'darker' times in Irish history.

Readable history

If you are interested in Irish history, this book is an easy way to get started. Each chapter, arranged chronologically, covers one woman's story of valor and ingenuity. Ranging from 122 BC to 1953 the stories give a great flow of history. Some women are more famous than others, all are Gaelic heroines in there own way. The reader needs to be prepared for violence as the early years were quite intense. Each story becomes gripping as an adventure of its own.

Tis herself

A wonderful collection tales of the ladies of the Emerald Island from folklore and history. This is a great book to pick up and read a little bit at the time since each woman is written in a short story form. Those who want to enrich their learning of the women, whether real or imagined,who contributed to the building of the Irish culture will find this a fascinating read.

Spunky Irish Lassies

I loved the book. Most all the women in the book show the Irish spunk. I also learned a bit of the history of Ireland. The history is a bit bloody but Im greatful that the author did not go into great detail with it. It also gave me a little understanding about their war. I would recommend this book to anyone, even the young. I am of Irish decent myself and love learning about where my ancestors came from.

fantastic

Contained within the pages of this book are the stories of thirteen legends of Irish history, all of them women. Each story comes to life, making the characters seem like real people, which of course they were. Folsom's book takes us from early Irish history through events in the twentieth century, providing us with a look at many of the major events that took place on the island during those years- wars, revolutions, invasions, betrayals. Not all the women are admirable in the deeds they performed, often being the cause of wars and great suffering. The sheer magnitude of lives lost during all these battles is astounding, whether they were full fledged wars or warfare between rival kings and chieftains. In those days women apparently were resigned to having their husbands and sons slaughtered. What comes out of this book is the resiliency some of these women possessed, along with bravery in the face of insurmountable odds. Others were willing to defy societal norms to accomplish what they felt strongly about. I absolutely loved this book. One of the best things about it is that you can read it a chapter at a time, and not feel like you have to read it straight through and lose track of what was going on. I would recommend having tissues nearby, for some of the stories are very sad. It certainly cleared up misconceptions I had about Irish history, just hearing bits and pieces over the years. It isn't just a history lesson, however. It is a study of character, both good and evil. I, for one, would certainly like to see a sequel.