The book is a pleasure to read; the analysis is logical, precise and nuanced; the wording, rich textured and apt. It is impossible in this space to report the variety and depth of the insights that pervade O'Neill's book. - Irish Literary Supplement; ""An unrivalled picture of one small part of pre-Famine rural Ireland."" - Mary E. Daly, Irish Historical Studies; ""An important contribution both to Irish history and to the demographic study of peasant societies in general."" - Journal of Social History