Ireland Awakening [antikvár]

introduction Dublin follows the destinies of six fictional Irish families: The O'Byrnes, who spring from the union of Conall, descendant of a High King of Ireland, and Deirdre, daughter of a local chieftain at the time of Saint Patrick. The MacGowans, pre-Celtic craftsmen and merchants. The Harolds and the Doyles, both Viking families who become farmers and merchants. The Walshes, Flemish knights originally, who settle in Wales before crossing to Ireland at the time of Strongbow's Anglo-Norman invasion in the twelfth century. And the Tidy family, craftsmen and small local officials, who arrive to try their luck in medieval Ireland. Dublin, the first book in Edward Rutherfurd's magnificent Dublin Saga, swept the reader through more than a thousand years of Irish history, telling Ireland's story through the adventures and fates of several Irish families, whose stories continue in this volume. The Saga opens in a.d. 430, with the stirring and tragic tale of Conall, nephew of the High King at Tara, and his fierce love for the beautiful Deirdre. When the High King chooses Deirdre as a second wife, the lovers flee. They live a blissful year in hiding, but there comes an inevitable reckoning. Conall frees Deirdre from her obligation to the High King, but at the cost of his life: in an ancient druidic ritual, he agrees to sacrifice himself to save his love and heal the land from strife. Here we see pagan Ireland in all its