Excerpt from The Towers and Temples of Ancient Ireland: Their Origin and History Discussed From a New Point of View Archaeology has for the last thirty years engaged a great deal of public attention; and on no branch of this science has a larger amount of literary research been bestowed than on investigations respecting the distinctive Architecture and religious systems of ancient Ireland. Having from childhood taken an interest in Irish antiquities, I was led in the course of my studies to form opinions not in accordance with any of the commonly received theories; and the result has been the following work, now respectfully submitted to the Public as a contribution to the elucidation of certain problems in Irish history and archaeology, which have never been satisfactorily solved. I have furnished as "Introductory Remarks" a brief outline of the theory which I have undertaken to defend; and I have added a Glossary of Irish and Cuthite terms used throughout the work, with the authorities for the interpretations given to the words by me. These will materially assist the reader in his study of the subject. I have scrupulously avoided all technicalities and erudite expressions, such as would be intelligible only to the scientific student, so that it is hoped the book will be acceptable and instructive to the general reader. Residing as I do in a remote part of the country, my visits to available libraries have been necessarily few and brief, and some trifling errors in reference or quotation may have escaped my pen; but while craving the reader's indulgence for any such, I would remind him, that they do not in anywise invalidate the main arguments confirmatory of my theory. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."

This book analyzes particular patterns of nationalist self-configuration and nationalist uses of memory, counter-memory, and historical amnesia in Ireland from roughly around the time of the emergence of a broad-based non-sectarian Irish nationalist platform in the late eighteenth century (the Society of United Irishmen) until Ireland’s partition and the founding of the Irish Free State in 1922. In approaching Irish nationalism through the particular historical lens of “Iran,” this book underscores the fact that Irish nationalism during this period (and even earlier) always utilized a historical paradigm that grounded Anglo-Irish encounters and Irish nationalism in the broader world history, a process that I term “worlding of Ireland.” In effect, Irish nationalism was always politically and culturally cosmopolitan in outlook in some formulations, even in the case of many nationalists who resorted to insular and narrowly defined exclusionary ethnic and/or religious formulations of the Irish “nation.” Irish nationalists, as nationalists in many other parts of the world, recurrently imagined their own history either in contrast to or as reflected in, the histories of peoples and lands elsewhere, even while claiming the historical uniqueness of the Irish experience. Present in a wide range of Irish nationalist political, cultural, and historical utterances were assertions of past and/or present affinities with other peoples and lands.

In this groundbreaking work, Marcus Keane presents a fresh perspective on the ancient towers and temples of Ireland. Drawing on a wealth of scholarly research, Keane provides an in-depth analysis of the history, symbolism, and meaning behind these fascinating structures, offering readers a comprehensive understanding of their role in Ireland's rich cultural heritage. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.