A History of the Media in Ireland

This book presents a complete overview of four centuries of communications in Ireland from the first printed book to the internet.

Christopher Morash (Author)

9780521843928, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 December 2009

264 pages
23.5 x 16 x 1.9 cm, 0.55 kg

From the first book printed in Ireland in the sixteenth century, to the globalised digital media culture of today, Christopher Morash traces the history of forms of communication in Ireland over the past four centuries: the vigorous newspaper and pamphlet culture of the eighteenth century, the spread of popular literacy in the nineteenth century, and the impact of the telegraph, telephone, phonograph, cinema and radio, which arrived in Ireland just as the Irish Free State came into being. Morash picks out specific events for detailed analysis, such as the first radio broadcast, during the 1916 Rising, or the Live Aid concert in 1985. This book breaks ground within Irish studies. Its accessible narrative explains how Ireland developed into the modern, globally interconnected, economy of today. This is an essential and hugely informative read for anyone interested in Irish cultural history.

Chronology
1. Stumpeworne letters: 1551–1660
Media event 1: bloudy newes from Ireland 23 October, 1641
2. Public spirits: 1660–1800
Media event 2: postroads to liberty: January 22, 1793
3. Acts of union: 1800–90
Media event 3: Parnellism and crime: April 18, 1887
4. Casual miracles: 1890–1916
Media event 4: broadcasting the rising: April 24, 1916
5. Listening in: 1921–60
Media event 5: helpless before the camera's eye: 5 October, 1968
6. 1961–90: windows on the world
Media event 6: with satellite television you can go anywhere: 13 July, 1985
7. Since 1990: digitised
Conclusion: imagining a mediated Ireland
Bibliographic essay
Index.

Subject Areas: Media studies [JFD], Literary studies: general [DSB], Literature: history & criticism [DS], Literature & literary studies [D]