ABOUT
Renown storyteller David K. McDonnell is the author of two books – ClanDonnell: A Storied History of Ireland and Buy The Horse A Guinness (& Other Wee Tales of Ireland), and many other stories.
ClanDonnell is the epic story of Ireland told in a unique way – through the lives of the people in Celtic Ireland’s McDonnell clan and their descendants into the twentieth century. Because the first McDonnells were mercenaries often called to service in all corners of Ireland, the clan’s history is intertwined with the history of the entire island.
Descendants of these McDonnell mercenaries included nobles and farmers, landlords and peasants, soldiers and poets, coffin ship victims and survivors, Protestants and Catholics, constables and revolutionaries. Some immigrated to North America and others fought in foreign armies. Many were killed or had land confiscated by the English. Still others adapted well to British Ireland. Collectively, the stories of these McDonnells during critical periods in Irish history tell the story of Ireland. More than 640 strategically placed images combined with crisp, witty writing make Ireland comprehensible to the non-historian.
By the end of ClanDonnell, readers will understand more about Irish history (and more than a wee bit of Irish language and culture) than they likely ever thought possible from a single, entertaining source.
ClanDonnel: A Storied History of Ireland
ClanDonnell is the epic story of Ireland told in a unique way – through the lives of the people in Celtic Ireland’s McDonnell clan and their descendants into the 20th century. Because the first McDonnells were mercenaries often called to service in all corners of Ireland, the clan’s history is intertwined with the history of the entire island.
Buy The Horse A Guinness & Other Wee Tales of Ireland
David McDonnell brings some of his favorite oral stories to the written page in Buy The Horse A Guinness. A critically acclaimed author and storyteller, David has told stories throughout the United States and Ireland – keeping alive the ancient Celtic tradition of the Irish storyteller (seanchaí in Irish) to the delight of audiences everywhere.
ClanDonnell Wins First Place
ClanDonnell wins first place in the Reviewers Choice Book Awards Book reviewers at Reader Views combined their notes and comments for the books reviewed during 2013 and picked the top three in each of several categories. First place in the Humanities division was awarded to ClanDonnell. We didn't even know the book was about Humanities, but we will take it!
ClanDonnell Wins First Place
ClanDonnell wins first place in the 2014 Beverly Hills Book Awards! The first place was in the “History General” category. This doesn’t mean that ClanDonnell is a general history. This simply distinguishes books from Beverly Hills’ other history category “ History - United States”. We love it in whatever category. We don’t remember a Detroiter doing this well in Beverly Hills since Axel Foley, and he isn’t even a real person. Visit Beverly Hills Book Awards
Storyteller's of Ireland
ClanDonnell A Finalist
ClanDonnell is a Finalist in the 2014 New Generation Indie Book Awards, in the Historical Non-fiction category. The awards are issued by the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group (IBPPG), the gurus of the independent publishing business. The awards are given to the ”most exceptional” independently published books.
