Excerpt from A History of Ireland for Schools, Academies and Colleges There is no omen more encouraging for Ireland's future than the great and growing desire which manifests itself for information as to Ireland's past. It is part, or, rather, a result of the intellectual revival which for a decade has been agitating the Irish race, and exhibits itself in tangible form in the many excellent books on Irish history which have recently appeared. The work herewith presented is not the least important of this class, and is intended to fulfill a purpose peculiarly its own. The author is to be commended for having noted the glaring defect in our system of education which excludes the study of Irish history, and for having striven - with what conspicuous success, the book speaks eloquently for itself - to remove what has often been put forward as an excuse for this defect, by producing a history of Ireland which is most attractive from a literary point of view, whose facts have been conseientiously ascertained and are fairly stated and which in its pedagogic form and arrangement complies in every particular with the exacting requirements of the school room