ADVERTISEMENT. W55 AMONG the many popular expedients by which modern literature is distinguished; that on which the plan of this work is framed, may be praised for its singular compass: its object is to collect the lessons of our moral and political history, and present them in the inductive form of examples, which expand or contract with the importance and interest of the subject. Instead of the continued progress of events, which demand laborious retention, the attention is excited by the familiar attraction of personal interest; and is thus led by successive and seemingly occasional incident, into a growing interest in details, which might otherwise fatigue the reader before they could be understood. The extensive series of national Biography, of which this first portion is now offered to the public, has been planned to carry into effect this view. The successful execution of the Biographical Histories of England and Scotland, seem to demand the present work for Ireland, as indispensable to the completion of this department of our national literature. To supply this desideratum, the present publication has been projected, in which shall be comprised the lives of all such Irishmen, or persons connected with Irish History, as can for any reason be considered entitled to such notice. The following arrangement will convey a more distinct idea of the plan of this work. It is to be divided into Six Periods, conformable in duration to the successive changes of our history Of these the main divisions are the following: I. From the earliest times to the Danish invasions in the 8th century. III. From the Battle of Clontarf to Queen Elizabeth's death. IV. From Queen Elizabeth's death to the accession of George III. V. From the accession of George III. to his death. VI. From the accession of George IV. to the present period. 983 Each of these divisions will be found to include the succession of a great national series of events, amounting to a revolutionary period. In these the plan to be pursued throughout, is according to the most comprehensive principles of History and Biography; and will include all that, on the most liberal allowance, can be looked for, as pleasing or profitable in either. According to this standard, appropriate space will be assigned to each name as it shall occur. Some names must be given because they will be looked for; some because they carry on the thread of the narrative; some for the occasion they afford to explain or describe interesting events. The Publishers, therefore, in projecting this NATIONAL WORK, rest assured that it is one in which every native of Ireland will feel interested, not only on account of its literary merits, but as tending to supply an essential desideratum in the literature of his country. To the Irishman who sees in this work, for the first time, an attempt, on an extensive scale, to concentrate, in a well-digested and comprehensive form, the virtues and honours of his country; and faithfully to portray the individual lives of Irishmen who have obtained eminence in the various departments of human pursuit; little need be said to recommend it to his favour. To make the LIVES OF ILLUSTRIOUS AND DISTINGUISHED IRISHMEN in reality what it ought to be—a truly national work —neither exertion nor expense have been spared. The Portraits, which have been copied from the most authentic original Paintings, by an eminent artist, are engraved in the first style; whilst the beauty of the typography, &c., is highly creditable to the advanced state of that art. For the different sections of the work, the services of men well versed in Irish literature have been secured; and the whole is under the Editorship of a gentleman whose profound erudition, and well known proficiency in Irish History, render him eminently qualified to do the work every justice. In conclusion, the Publishers confidently appeal to the volume now before the reader, as a proof that they have produced a work every way calculated to uphold and advance the character of the literature of Ireland. |