Shane O'Neill, the great Ulster lord of the mid-sixteenth century, merits a biography. Brady's is accessible, exceptionally well-written and strong on high politics and Anglo-Irish relations. Shane's visit to the court of Elizabeth is no longer a barbarous freak-show but the subject of court intrigue.

There is the state's botched attempt to poison O'Neill by having a Dublin pharmacist spike his drink. The subsequent peace of Drumcree (1563) collapses when no parliament is called to ratify it. Equally compelling are the accounts of O'Neill's defeat at Farsetmore by the O'Donnells and the ensuing fateful negotiations with the MacDonnells.