The Story of Ireland

Do not expect a travelogue or evocation of quaint pubs and clover from the BBC-aired series The Story of Ireland, which tells a sharply political saga, beginning with host Fergal Keane's memories of growing up in a 1970s Belfast war zone with relatives in the IRA before laying out a chronicle of the centuries of violence that shaped Ireland's terrible, lasting divisions. Some myths are addressed; St. Patrick was not the first Christian missionary to Ireland, but he made a convenient figurehead behind which to unite the island's clans under Catholicism. At one point, Irish high kings and their literate culture outshone Dark Ages Europe, but power struggles and conquest by the Normans ended with Ireland being subjugated by Britain, a situation some Irish accommodated, while others fought (external imperial powers, such as France, Spain, and Holland, also lent meddling assistance). With chronic English civil wars, especially after King Henry VIII cast off Catholicism (and then Oliver Cromwell deposed the royalty), Ireland's heartbreaking fissures, allegiances, revolts, and hatreds festered until Ireland partitioned into Protestant Ulster and Catholic sovereign Ireland in 1921. The ensemble cast of warlords, landowner-chiefs, folk heroes, and politicians may overwhelm the casual viewer, but this is a magisterial series, overall, serving up a comprehensive political history of the Emerald Isle. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)