The Last Prince of Ireland

by Morgan Llywelyn

Book Overview

The history of Ireland is studded with tragedies, but none is more poignant, or more decisive, that the battle of Kinsale. There the Gaelic nobility who held sway over Ireland for two thousand years were finally and resolutely crushed by the English invaders. There would follow four hundred years of English domination. The Last Prince is Donal Cam O'Sullivan, still determined after the battle not to surrender his homeland. He flees with his clan toward...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068810794X
• ISBN13: 9780688107949
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

A Story of Courage and Patriotism

This book ranks in the top three of my favorites by Llywelyn -- Lion of Ireland and Red Branch being the other two. Llywelyn recounts in detail the journey of Donal Cam O'Sullivan and a rag-tag group of survivors as they move across Ireland to the safety of the north and Hugh O'Neill. Over a thousand men, women, and children set out on this journey and through treachery and death only 34 make it to the north. Above all this is a story of courage and patriotism. How a small group, encouraged by a strong leader, refuses to subject themselves to an invading and unwanted monarch out to rein in control of her stolen lands. This book is very much pro-Irish, so take that into consideration, but the author has history and a long bibliography to back her up.

historically depressing - too true

This would best be read in conjunction with "The Twilight Lords" for a great view of the bitter end of the Irish self rule at the dawn of the 17th Cent. Like many of the stories about the period, it is depressing. Well, so was living in Ireland then. Sure, no potatoe famine yet, but war is just as deadly.An interesting story of Donal O Sullivan, one of the men who falls often into the shadow of the other big fellas of the times, Hugh O Neill.Following the Battle of Kinsale (i.e., slaughter, massacre, etc.), the lord of the land, The O Sullivan, decides to lead his people away from the ravaged land northward to the bastion of the remaining "irish", ironically, to the modern mind, in Ulster. In the dead of winter, an unusually hard one, with little food and mostly desperation, how do you lead your people to the tentative safety far away? This paints a vividly bitter picture of the devastation wrought upon the Irish poor by the English army and Foreign Policy.This is an intense story, if a bit thin on character development and plot. Survival is a plot, even if it doesn't move quickly. Survival was the goal - physical survival. But, physical survival was always seen by the lords as concurrent with survival of what was "Irish". That seems the bitter truth - in the effort to simply survive, much of what we once treasured is lost to the ravages of time and expediency.Perhaps with the looming shadow of war today, we could read through this and take another look at the geography of the world today - and ask ourselves whether our government is just allied with the English, or acting like their forefathers.

Not up to Llywelyn standards

*The Last Prince of Ireland,* though its historical accuracy seems to be above par, does not have the same impact that other Llywelyn novels have had. The details are rich and abundant, but instead of bringing the suffering and minior triumphs to life, they seem to weigh the novel down. Point of view shifts are numerous and abrupt, though not necessarily confusing, but I wonder about how truly effective they are. However, what bothered me the most about this novel is that the characters inspired little emotion in me. After being blown away by Llywelyn's *Lion of Ireland,* I was fully prepared to fall in love with the characters. I was waiting to be absorbed by every word, every action, every tiny detail. And I wasn't.Though this novel is not bad by any means, it is, if you've read any other Llywelyn novel, disappointing. I would not recommend starting with this one. Read *Lion of Ireland* first to see what this normally wonderful author is capable of.

One of the best

Morgan does an excellent job in the area of historical fiction of the precedents for the Irish hatred of the British. It is a book you will not put down. It is factual and written with clarity, intensity and a sense of the sustained futility of the hopelessness of the Prince's band. Her knowledge of the times, the issues, and the terrain are substantiated by the facts that she walked the entire trek. She is an American writer now residing in Ireland . Our loss , the Irish gain. Water seeks it own level.

An O'Sullivan Network Review

The Last Prince of Ireland, by Morgan Llywelyn, depicts in novel form the historic march from Doire na Fola near Glengarriff to Leitrim in Ulster of Donal Cam O'Sullivan, Lord of Beare and Bantry, and 1000 followers after the defeats of Kinsale and Dunboy that finalized the loss of Munster (southern Ireland) to England. The book, which is currently out of print, provides the reader with insight into the battle of Kinsale, the loss of Dunboy Castle, 16th Century O'Sullivan geneology and clan feuds, as well as historic descriptions of the entire devastating march. The book seems factual, is interesting, entertaining, and easy to read; and is definitely recommended reading for anyone interested in O'Sullivan ancestry or Irish history. If you are interested, visit O-SULLIVAN.NET