The University of Wisconsin Press
History / Irish & British Studies / Folklore
Remembering
the Year of the French Remembering the Year of the French is a model of historical achievement, moving deftly between the study of historical events—the failed French invasion of the West of Ireland in 1798—and folkloric representations of those events. Delving into the folk history found in Ireland’s archives and rich oral traditions, Guy Beiner reveals alternate visions of the Irish past and brings into focus the vernacular histories, folk commemorative practices, and negotiations of memory that had gone largely unnoticed by historians. Though his focus is 1798, his work is also a comprehensive study of Irish folk history and of grassroots social memory. “A book of impressive scholarship and striking originality.”—Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh, Field Day Review “Guy Beiner here shows himself to be a historian of unusual talent.”—Marianne Elliott, Times Literary Supplement “Based on massive research. . . . [Beiner] demonstrates effectively how orally transmitted local memories have contributed to historical knowledge about the 1798 French invasion of western Ireland, as well as much else about the Irish past.”—Choice “Accessible, full of intriguing detail, and eminently teachable. . . . Superb, painstaking scholarship that makes lasting contributions to Irish studies and to cultural and historical studies writ large.”—Ray Cashman, New Hibernia Review • 2007 hardcover, UW Press Guy Beiner is lecturer in history at Ben-Gurion University in Israel. He has been a research fellow at Trinity College, Dublin, and an NEH Keough Irish Studies Fellow at Notre Dame University, and he is the author of many articles on modern Irish history and memory. |
“A brilliant and original contribution not only to Irish history . . . but also to the study of social memory.” |
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Reviews "There is much to recommend Remembering the Year of the French to a wide audience . . . Beiner successfully demonstrates to the reader the ways in which folklore has the capacity to expand our historical horizons and open up a range of narrative windows on the past."
—Yvonne Whelan, Journal of Historical Geography (2008) “Guy Beiner here shows himself to be a historian of unusual talent, well placed to bring a very wide range of skills and sources to what he calls a ‘cubist portrayal of the past’ and to do so without also losing it in jargonistic confusion.” —Marianne Elliott, Times Literary Supplement “A remarkable piece of scholarship. . . . accessible, full of intriguing detail, and eminently teachable. . . . Superb, painstaking scholarship that makes lasting contributions to Irish studies and to cultural and historical studies writ large.” —Ray Cashman, New Hibernia Review “This pioneering study, a major contribution to Irish historiography, challenges the position of the New Irish History historians who have regarded popular history as outside the pale of the professional historian." —Maureen Murphy, Irish Literary Supplement “A valuable and insightful contribution. . . . There is no doubting the importance of [Beiner’s] methodological approach.” —Jonathan Githens-Mazor, Nations and Nationalism “[This] book challenges folklorist and historian alike. . . . An exemplary methodology throughout.” —Stiofán Ó Cadhla, Journal of British Studies “Beiner brings international perspectives, theoretical literacy, and palpable intellectual enthusiasm to bear on his subjects.” —Jim Smyth, History “Historians will find this book very provocative. . . . [It] makes such a solid case for the significance of folk materials as cultural expression.” —Fernando Fischman, Journal of Folklore Research “A brilliant and original contribution not only to Irish history, reconstructing the view from below, but also to the study of social memory.” —Peter Burke, Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge “A painstaking and pathbreaking study. . . . Through the lens of 1798 in the West of Ireland, it focuses on the dynamic interface between vernacular and official versions of history.” “Innovative and learned, the first major exploration of Irish ‘memory’ to be grounded in recent theoretical debates.”—Ian McBride, editor of History and Memory in Modern Ireland Guy Beiner is lecturer in history at Ben-Gurion University in Israel. He has been a research fellow at Trinity College Dublin and an NEH Keough Irish Studies Fellow at Notre Dame University, and he is the author of many articles on modern Irish history and memory. |
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