The Irish Empire

by Patrick Joseph Bishop

Ireland has a present population of about four million, but it can claim 70 million descendants worldwide -- 70 million people whose families turned tragedy into triumph, by fleeing poverty, hunger, and political and religious oppression to start a new life in far-flung lands. Over centuries, successive waves of Irish emigration have established an extraordinary spread of Irish communities and power bases from London to NewYork, from Australia to Argentina. The Irish Empire reveals why, in the last four hundred years, to be brought up in Ireland meant being prepared to leave it, an Irish cultural mindset that has persisted almost to the present day. Blending the history of the Irish with rich insight into their enduring influence, Patrick Bishop pays grand tribute to the spirit of the Emerald Isle.

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