Objects don't just have stories, they tell stories. But what they said to their contemporaries may be different from what they say to us. Whether it's a silver tea urn from Georgian Dublin or an illuminated page from the Book of Kells, these objects help us gain a more complex understanding of our past. Fintan O'Toole is the literary editor of the Irish Times. Over the past two years he has chosen 100 objects, the majority of which can be found in the National Museum of Ireland, to narrate a history of the island of Ireland. The articles appeared weekly in the Irish Times and will now be published fully in book form by the Royal Irish Academy.
