In On Every Tide, Sean Connolly tells the epic story of Irish migration, showing how emigrants became a force in world politics and religion.
Starting in the 18th century, the Irish fled limited opportunity at home and fanned out across America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
These emigrants helped settle new frontiers, industrialize the West, and spread Catholicism globally.
As the Irish built vibrant communities abroad, they leveraged their newfound power — sometimes becoming oppressors themselves.
Deeply researched and vividly told, On Every Tide is essential reading for understanding how the people of Ireland shaped the world.
Connolly’s writing is lively and light enough on its feet not to get bogged down in the statistics he deploys so effectively, Fiintan O’Toole said in a review for the New York Times.
Connolly has a healthy allergy to sentimental and heroic myth-making, remaining clear-eyed about the capacity of the Irish to inflict on others the oppression and belittlement they themselves suffered at home and abroad.