I'm currently in the process of (re)claiming a piece of my past that my ancestors decided to put aside - to whit, the Irish language. I feel that being able to speak the words alone isn't enough, though; I want to know who my ancestors were, what they did, why they did it, and what that means for me.
Here's the thing, though. There's, ah, quite a bit of let's call it 'static' in between me and what I'm looking for. Quite apart from having to deal with my friends cracking jokes about leprechauns, potatoes, and whisky, there's some pretty tense stuff around Northern Ireland, and then there's all the hissing, crackling, and general spitting around the Irish in the 19th Century (which, conveniently enough, is when my family left the Old World to head Downunder). And then again there's all the ... New Age ... stuff. Fairies and the land of the young and pretty immortal otherworldly beings that might as well have sparkly skin.
I'd love to be able to cut through the static and dig into some concise, coherent resources that don't fall into any of the above traps. I want to learn Irish stories - but I want to learn the stories they told each other. I want to learn about Irish history - but I want to learn about it without being subject to extraterritorial nationalism, or misty-eyed mysticism, or victim olympics.
I'm hoping someone here might be able to point me toward some good resources (ideally ones I can access via public library, given that I'm not a uni student myself), or perhaps even give me a rundown on how to spot the "static" and how to work through it to find useful and relevant information.
Fair play to you for learning Irish, best of luck with that! If you haven't checked it out already r/gaeilge can be a good resource and there is a great Irish speaking community on Twitter.
If you remove the "extraterritorial nationalism, [...] misty-eyed mysticism, [and] victim olympics" there isn't a lot left in Irish history! You will find all of those things on r/IrishHistory but it is genuinely a great subreddit, lots of interesting discussions going on on all periods of Irish History but with a big focus on the events of 100 years ago at the moment. There is a lot of new material and research coming out on the Irish Revolution so it is a good time to become interested.
"Irish history" is quite long and complex and it depends on what area you are interested in. I'm going to presume pre 19th century as you say that is when your family left? Finn Dwyer runs Irish History Podcast and has done a great, in depth series on the Famine. Pax Britannica focuses mainly on the British Empire but does address England's role in Ireland around the Plantations, the Flight of the Earls etc. I haven't listened to much of it yet but it is on my list.
If you are interested in the more recent Irish history there is a podcast called Hidden Histories of the Northern Ireland Troubles. r/IrishHistory has a lot on the revolutionary period at the moment like I said and if you are so interested I am covering it on Youtube!
There are lots of great book recommendations but I would say decide what period(s) you are interested in first. There is nothing manageable that covers everything. Atlas of the Irish Revolution covers the period from the mid/late 1800s through to the end of the Civil War in 1923. It weighs 5kg!