celebrates Irish cultural heritage by highlighting the tenacity in the face of adversity that has characterized the Celts of Ireland since ancient times. A well-researched study of Irish history, this book takes a fascinating look at the colorful Irish rebels, warriors, and heroes who have championed the Irish people from their pagan origins to the present day. Author Joan Synnott Ardrey began this odyssey with a desire to explore her Irish heritage. Her book is unique in weaving her family history into the larger narrative, documenting the role that the Synnotts of Wexford played in Irish history. What really captured her imagination was the Irish quality of being, as one sixteenth-century English observer put it, "very great scorners of death." This observation inspired her to create an Irish history book that stands out among the genre; no other work shines so bright of a light on this distinguishing trait. But doesn't only focus on the Irish as a warlike people. It also shows the Irish as great poets, scholars, artists, musicians, and religious luminaries. It's no wonder that no one in history has ever been able to vanquish the Irish spirit!