Sean Duffy, the general editor of the bestselling 'Atlas of Irish History', has written a text of exceptional clarity. He stresses the enduring themes of his story: the long cultural continuity; the central importance of Ireland's relationships with Britain and mainland Europe, and the intractability of the ethnic and national divisions in modern Ulster. As a specialist in medieval Irish history, he gives the earlier period its proportional treatment - unlike many such surveys. Other books by Sean Duffy Atlas of Irish History Ireland in the Middle Ages.