The Irish Classical Self considers the role of classical languages and learning in the construction of cultural identities in eighteenth and nineteenth century Ireland. Focusing in particular on the "lower ranks" of society, it explores this unusual phenomenon through analysis of contemporary writings and records of classical hedge schools. This book deserves a wide readership. Students of classical reception will value its total familiarity with the receiving context, its combination of élite and non-élite views, and its understanding of how Greek and Latin classics interacted with native Irish traditions. Historians of Ireland too should recognize O'Higgins' important contribution: beyond classical reception studies, she brings to light aspects of social and cultural history that historians who are not classically trained might have overlooked, or examined in less depth