Includes bibliographic references and index.

Welcome -- Battles and sieges -- Rebellion and revolution -- Detour: those that I fight I do not hate -- Maritime disasters -- Famine -- Detour: a day at the park -- Emigration -- Detour: signposts -- Incarceration -- Detour: beyond the land -- Death -- Exit through the gift shop -- Your feedback is important to us -- An unexpected darkness.

It's no secret that the Irish are obsessed with misery, suffering and death. They find a strange enchantment in the island's dark past. And no wonder, for there is darkness everywhere you look: in cemeteries and castles, monuments and museums, stories and songs.
Inspired by a grandmother who looked to try on outfits for her own funeral, Gillian O'Brien has long been fascinated by the macabre. In The Darkness Echoing, she tours Ireland's most deliciously dark heritage sites, delving into the stories behind them and asking what they reveal about the Irish.
From war to revolution, famine to emigration and, finally, to death and ghosts, O'Brien explores the strange allure of Ireland's troubled history. Energetic, illuminating and surprisingly funny, The darkness Echoing challenges old, accepted narratives about Ireland, and asks intriguing questions about Ireland's past, present and future.