“History, legend, memory and myth come seamlessly together in Frank Delaney’s wonderfully engaging new novel, IRELAND, an intimate epic that is at once a sprawling account of 2,000 years of tumultuous Irish history and a meditation on the enduring importance of stories.” — Washington Post

“An epic novel of history and storytelling.” — U.S. News & World Report

“Delaney gracefully collects essential myths—and invents a few, too—in his heartfelt ode to the oral tradition.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Dramatic, adventurous, heroic, romantic, slyly comic, these historical chronicles, legends, myths, tall tales and fables, featuring warriors, kings, monks, explorers and clever common folk, imaginatively tell the history of Ireland.” — Philadelphia Inquirer

“Epic. . . . Combines Irish history with the fictional tale of a Senchai, a wandering storyteller who enchants a family with stories of Ireland and its people.” — USA Today

“In the end, IRELAND is, as the Irish themselves are fond of saying about everything from cabbage to castles, brilliant.” — San Antonio Express-News

“IRELAND touches the heart and moves the soul.” — Richmond Times-Dispatch

“A sweeping saga of Ireland.” — Los Angeles Times

“Extraordinary … mixes history and fiction in an epic narrative that traces the entire history of [the] country. Delaney is such a fabulous storyteller.” — Connecticut Post

“Warm, intelligent, and unapologetically nostalgic ... Delaney is as much in love with the art of storytelling as he is the story’s subject.” — Christian Science Monitor

“IRELAND both reinforces and rethinks what it means to be Irish … celebrates the island nation’s history through the words of a storyteller.” — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

“A wonderfully engaging novel, an intimate epic that is at once a sprawling account of 2,000 years of Irish history and a meditation on the enduring importance of stories.” — San Jose Mercury News

“[A] grand sweep of a novel.” — Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers

“It succeeds both as folk history and as a novel...and in exalting the art of storytelling as well as demonstrating the author’s love of all things Irish -- people, place and language.” — Baton Rouge Advocate

“A sprawling, riveting read. . . the stories utterly captivate. . . in this rich and satisfying book.” — Publishers Weekly

“A vivid rendering of Irish history, imagined and real... reminiscent of the best of James Michener in scope and sheer crowd-pleasing potential.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Highly recommended … both touching and real. An accomplished historian and novelist, Delaney deftly weaves the story of a people and a country with a poignant coming-of-age tale …. fans of Edward Rutherford’s historical sagas will love it.” — Library Journal (Starred Review)

“An absolute masterpiece. With this extraordinary novel Frank Delaney joins the ranks of the greatest of Irish writers. James Joyce would have been proud of him.” — Jack Higgins, New York Times bestselling author of Edge of Danger

In the winter of 1951, a storyteller arrives at the home of nine-year-old Ronan O'Mara in the Irish countryside. The last practitioner of an honored, centuries-old tradition, the Seanchai enthralls his assembled audience for three evenings running with narratives of foolish kings and fabled saints, of enduring accomplishments and selfless acts -- until he is banished from the household for blasphemy and moves on. But these three incomparable nights have changed young Ronan forever, setting him on the course he will follow for years to come -- as he pursues the elusive, itinerant storyteller . . . and the magical tales that are no less than the glorious saga of his tenacious, troubled, and extraordinary isle.