A NEW Irish history book by popular historian Jonathan Bardon, spanning an era from the Ice Age to the eve of the second World War, was published in Belfast yesterday evening.
A History of Ireland in 250 Episodesis based on a mammoth commission Dr Bardon received from the BBC in 2005.
He was asked to explain all of Irish history in a series of 240 short, dramatised radio programmes that were broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster every weekday in 2006-2007.
Having already written A History of Ulster, Dr Bardon decided to take on the formidable task. He started writing the five-minute pieces in 2005 and managed to complete the project, meeting every deadline.
Dr Bardon, who is one of the contributors to The Irish Times'sIrish and British State papers coverage each year, has re-edited, restructured and supplemented the original transcripts into a single comprehensive body of work.
"Officially this book began in 2005 but the gestation period has been all my adult life," explained Dr Bardon, who arrived in Belfast from Dublin as a 21-year-old history teacher in 1964.
His first posting was Orangefield Boys Secondary School in east Belfast.
"I just missed teaching Van Morrison, who was a famous pupil there, but did teach Brian Keenan," he explained.
Each story is self-contained, in order to allow the reader to open a chapter at random and delve into any of the historical accounts.
Alternatively, the episodes read in sequence providing a complete narrative history of Ireland.
The book, published by Gill and Macmillan and priced at €29.99, was launched by the BBC Northern Ireland controller Peter Johnston.