"History is a stubborn, sanctimonious, sly, slippery serpent, notoriously so in Ireland. History does no lie. Not so Irish 'historians'! They personify Samuel Butler's dictum that 'though God cannot alter the past, 'historians' can.'"
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Hand of History: Burden of Pseudo History by Tom O'Connor Trafford Publishing
book review by Staff
Hand of History is an in-depth historical account of the early Celtic Royal Complex, their early migration to Ireland, and their political struggles over power and land that transpired during this time. The book also discusses the discrepancies in Celtic history, due to a suppression by the Christian ruling class of Southern Ireland, who wanted to whitewash what they considered to be Celtic paganism. The book is divided into four chapters, each dedicated to its own historical category. Together the chapters cover the role Romans played in Celtic migration and inhabitation of Ireland, the royal lineage and major settlements, and ends with the dawn of Christianity and how this forever altered Ireland's political, religious, and social structures. Mr. O'Connor provides readers with a wealth of modern day images of historical and ceremonial sites that are referenced within the text.
The author's knowledge about the subject is clear, and, to other Celtic and/or Early Ireland historians, Hand of History is more than likely a gem. For the casual reader or novice historian, the text can be a linguistic challenge. O'Connor relates tribal names, places, and figures in complex sentences, for instance: "Psuedo-Dindsenchas hijacked Cnoc na Dala for Croghan of Roscommon as part of the Rathcroghan Myth concocted from the 8th century for its glorification." This gives the book an overall heavy reference feel. Although a number of sections present easy to follow concepts, others might benefit by referencing outside sources or informational sidebars. This book is not for the novice, but certainly all anyone might want to know about Turoe's Celtic Royal Complex and its eponymous stone.