Ireland is news; since the IRA ceasefire in the autumn of 1994 she has become the focus of worldwide attention. Only now can one sense an international recognition of the complexity of Irish problems and the beginnings of understanding. The answer to Ireland's difficulties lies in the future, but that future cannot be understood without reference to the past, when the seeds of trouble were sown. This concise and even-handed account gives the history of Ireland since the earliest times. Based upon up-to-date research, the narrative covers all political, social and cultural issues of importance, right up to the autumn of 1995 with the visit of President Clinton and the end of the first year of peace in Northern Ireland.