Description

The Cruthin are the earliest inhabitants of Ireland to whom a name can be given. Ian Adamson traces their legacy from the megalithic monuments of the Irish countryside to the shipyards of Belfast. More importantly, he contends that they were the common stock onto which the Celts, Gaels, Vikings and Anglo-Normans were later grafted. They therefore offer the bitterly polarized Orange and Green a shared heritage. ‘The Cruthin’ was the first of several similar books ( ‘The Identity of Ulster’ and ‘The Ulster People’) by Adamson, whose work was a major influence on Rene Frechet, founder of the Institute of Irish Studies at the Sorbonne. Scholarly and devoid of stereotypes, ‘The Cruthin’ is essential reading for anyone interested in Ireland.