The First Irish Cities : An Eighteenth-Century Transformation

The untold story of a group of Irish cities and their remarkable development before the age of industrialization.
A backward corner of Europe in 1600, Ireland was transformed during the following centuries. This was most evident in the rise of its cities, notably Dublin and Cork. David Dickson explores ten urban centers and their patterns of physical, social, and cultural evolution, relating this to the legacies of a violent past, and he reflects on their subsequent partial eclipse. Beautifully illustrated, this account reveals how the country’s cities were distinctive and—through the Irish diaspora—influential beyond Ireland’s shores.

David Dickson is professor emeritus of Modern History in Trinity Dublin. His previous books include Dublin: The Making of a City, Old World Colony: Cork and South Munster 1630–1830, and New Foundations: Ireland 1660–1800, Revised Edition.

Hardback

352 pages

37 color + 28 black and white illus. + 2 maps