Ireland's Holy Wars : The Struggle for a Nation's Soul, 1500-2000

In this vivid and perceptive exploration of the enduring conflict in Ireland and the people who sustain it, Marcus Tanner contends that the roots of "the troubles" are inescapably religious. Through detailed research into the Irish past and a deep personal knowledge of Ireland today, Tanner shows that Ireland's persistent conflict can only be understood in the context of five centuries of failed attempts by the English to impose Protestantism on the Irish state.

Marcus Tanner, formerly assistant foreign editor of the London Independent, is the author of Croatia: A Nation Forged in War