I want a good book that gives a good history of Ireland, from the first settlers onward. I was looking at this book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/156663525X/ref=mp_s_a_11?qid=1326953071&sr=8-11
I was just curious to know if anyone has something different to recommend, or there’s anything else that’s considered the “definitive” history that I ought to read instead.
Thanks,
Casey
Bear in mind that Ulster’s history is sharply different from the rest of Ireland. I read through a bunch of "History of Ireland"s with disgust at the disregard. The book that finally informed me was Jonathan Bardon’s “History of Ulster”. It’s not excellent - there are irritating errors of fact here and there, and it is a little dismaying to see how the second edition varies from the first - it looks like a major rewrite - but it’s still a good source.
Regardless of which “History of Ireland” you choose, have a dip into this as well.
When you say Ulster, are you talking about unionist vs. nationalist, i.e. the circumstances that bought about Northern Ireland as a separate nation? Or do refer to something different that’s specific to Ulster?
I would like to eventually read more about this, since I don’t really have a clear picture of everything that happened to cause all this. I know there’s a lot of Protestant vs. Catholic involved, but beyond that I feel embarrassingly ignorant, and want to remedy that.
Read all the histories you can.
Start with what interests you most, the book you linked to looks good.
Follow it up with what is in the books bibliography.
Haunt used book stores and libraries.
The only way to get a good perspective on a subject is have many sources.
My humble opinion.
Nope, I’m talking about the province at the North end of the island. The border and the separation and the whole matter of divisiveness was what I was originally interested in, but my experience with the history books is that because of the border, modern history books tend to either include the province along the lines of “and Ulster too” or ignore it because “it’s not part of Ireland”. I’m exaggerating, but that is how it looks to me.
I wanted to know about John de Courcey and Carrickfergus Castle. I wanted to know about Viscount Castlereagh. It’s worth getting hold of a biography of him. Interesting chap. I wanted to know who invaded Ireland from England and when and why. John de Courcey has a bearing on that. Did you know he married Affreca, the daughter of the King of the Isle of Man? And she was a battle-maiden, and fought alongside him? Once you get going, there is some fascinating stuff there.
What Maki says is absolutely right. Read everything, and make up your own mind. Great - if you have the resources! - and besides, everybody has to start somewhere!
A place to use as a reference for some of the stuff you might come across in books or elsewhere is the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland PRONI.
Hunh. It couldn’t find anything for EITHER John de Courcey OR Viscount Castlereagh. 
I think there might be more than a little bit about Viscount Castlereagh.
It couldn’t find any an hour ago and now there are 112 entries!
What did you do? 
sorry, I’m a little late for the show… the book you cited is fairly good, what I liked about it is its based on the documentary that was produced and in the book they visited the places from the documentary. Here’s another source for books on Northern Ireland http://www.ulsterheritage.com/astore.htm I’ve read a few. I also had my DNA documented and its both N & S. The resources in the link are really making an effort to get the “whole” story documented, but it leans to the Northern view as thats what they’re trying to preserve. The link can also refer you to other sources. Unfortunately, like maki said, search many sources. I totally agree. I have family from Tyrone County (north) and Roscommon (south). Church view/records Cath vs Prot differences, north vs south differences, Brit, Scot, N. Ire., that’s all still going on very actively today even in the sports. You want some real insight, Youtube I.R.A. or Unionists anything and watch how bitter their positions are. Its a tough one there.