HAYDEN, Mary & MOONAN, George. A Short History of the Irish People. Part I – From the Earliest Times to 1603; Part II – From 1603 to Present Time (Fine copy in rare dustjacket)

New and revised edition with large folding historical map of Ireland and other maps. London: Longmans Green, 1927. Octavo. pp. vii, 585, xxv. Green cloth, title and publisher’s device in gilt on spine and upper cover. Previous owner’s signature on front endpaper. A fine copy in rare near fine dust jacket.
Mary Hayden (1862-1942) was one of the most influential Irish historians of the early Free State period and a pioneering academic and feminist. Educated at Alexandra College and among the earliest women to take degrees from the Royal University of Ireland, she became in 1911 the first Professor of Modern Irish History at University College Dublin, a post she held for twenty-seven years. Hayden was deeply engaged in the intellectual life of the Celtic Revival, associated with figures such as W. B. Yeats, Douglas Hyde and Patrick Pearse, and played a central role in campaigns for women’s access to higher education and public life.
She is best remembered as the principal author of A Short History of the Irish People, co-written with George A. Moonan and long known to generations of students as “Hayden and Moonan”. Written from an explicitly national standpoint and based on contemporary scholarship, the book became the standard school and college history text in Ireland from the 1920s to the 1960s, shaping historical understanding in the new state. Though criticised by some contemporaries for omissions and later for its treatment of recent events, it was widely praised for its clarity, balance, and pedagogical influence. Alongside her historical work, Hayden was an active suffragist and advocate for women’s rights, opposing restrictive Free State policies and remaining engaged in feminist causes until shortly before her death.

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