LJ Starred Review for Dictionary of Irish Biography
Congratulations to the DIB, which was reviewed by Library Journal. Please see below for the review:
Billed as the most comprehensive and authoritative biographical reference
work on Ireland, this solid scholarly resource boasts over 9000 entries
composed by some 700 contributors, covering subjects from the fifth century
C.E. through 2002. No living people are included; the most recent entry is
Dorothy Walker, a writer and critic who died in December 2002. Entries
provide biographical information along with an assessment of the career and
achievements of subjects in the arts, sciences, politics, sports, and
religion. Subjects include those born and achieving fame in Ireland, those
born in Ireland but achieving fame outside the country, and those born
outside the country but achieving fame in Ireland. Entrants were selected
on the basis of their interest to scholars in the 21st century, and a
particular effort was made to include women, often overlooked in earlier
works. Individual entries are written by recognized experts on the
subjects; for example, the entry on W.B. Yeats is by Terence Brown, author
of The Life of W.B. Yeats (Blackwell, 1999). Those producing this resource
come with impressive credentials, especially McGuire, who is chair of the
Irish Manuscripts Commission and a member of the Royal Irish Academy, under
whose auspices the work was published. BOTTOM LINE Highly recommended for
academic libraries and larger public libraries where there is an interest
in Celtic studies. [The work has been published simultaneously both in
print and in online formats. For more information, go to dib.cambridge.org
.—Ed.]—Denise J. Stankovics, Vernon, CT
