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Irish Emigrant Book Review, No.88 (Nov 2002)
Across The Waves by T. Ryle
Dwyer
- The story of the courtship and brief marriage of T. Ryle Dwyer’s parents
has the potential to be a truly affecting story of wartime separation
and eventual widowhood of a young Irish American woman. His father, Johnny
Dwyer, realised the long-term importance of the correspondence between
himself and his wife Margaret, and wrote on the backs of her letters so
that his son would be able to understand what they were “doing and thinking
in these unusual days”. Many, of necessity, refer to his wartime exploits
and are therefore lacking in detail, but in their descriptions of the
general conditions of war they convey vividly the trials of military life
in action. In a number of the letters Dwyer expresses his deep feelings
for his wife and son and looks forward to their life together after the
war, but somehow the poignancy of these has been lost in the presentation.
What the book does do admirably is to describe the American way of life
in the years before the Second World War, giving background information
on Margaret Harrigan’s family and their connection with Co. Kerry. Her
work for AT&T which involved travelling the country gave her a wider
experience than many women of her age and also involved her in monitoring
calls from the theatre of operations in Europe at the beginning of the
war. Margaret’s marriage to Johnny Dwyer took place in Seattle, far from
her home, and the couple subsequently moved around the country as Johnny
was posted from base to base. After their son Ryle was born they managed
to spend two weeks together as a family in New York before Johnny was
posted overseas. Margaret was notified of his death in January 1945, just
two months before she gave birth to their second son, Sean. They had been
married for less than two years and had been apart for most of that time,
keeping in touch only by letter at a time when the postal system was extremely
unreliable. Margaret’s decision to bring her two sons to Ireland, which
she had visited in 1936, meant that she had the extended Ryle family for
support and she soon became involved with many aspects of life in Tralee.
Indeed much of the latter part of the book is taken up with a description
of the gradual evolution of the Rose of Tralee Festival and, although
Margaret played an important part in its increasing success, the author
seems to focus more on the event itself than his mother’s part in it.
His story of his grandparents’ emigration and their life in America, his
parents brief marriage and his mother’s years as the “merry widow” in
Tralee make for an interesting and well-told story, but the rather misleading
description on the cover, “A true story of love and loss in a time of
war”, led me to expect something rather different.
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Untold Stories ed. Colin Murphy
and Lynne Adair
- The position of Protestants in Ireland since the establishment of the
Free State has been one of unease in many cases. In this collection a
number of those who have experience of living as a minority reflect on
what it has meant in their own lives. In his introduction, Professor Stephen
Mennell briefly outlines the history of the Protestant community in Ireland
before going on to reflect on the change in perspective and outlook of
a group who have often been made to feel less Irish for being outside
the Catholic faith. A dominant note is struck throughout the book by the
Ne Temere ruling whereby all children from a mixed marriage were required
to be brought up as Catholics. This is seen as not only a misuse of the
tremendous power of the Catholic Church in the middle years of the last
century, but as one of the main causes of the decline in numbers of the
Protestant community. While almost all of the contributions are very positive
in outlook, many of those writing of their experiences conclude with a
plea for dialogue, tolerance and understanding; Phyllis Browne exhorts
us to live according to the Ten Commandments, since we all strive for
“peace with justice”; Bishop Richard Clarke of Meath and Kildare believes
that in the future “the battle will be for the credibility of the Gospel
rather than for the victory of one Church over another”. The low level
of a significant contribution by members of the Protestant community to
the life of the State is highlighted by both Dr Mennell in his introduction
and by Ian McCracken, a Donegal Presbyterian. This is seen as being both
cause and effect of the feelings of not quite belonging still experienced
by some Protestants. Stories of their childhoods, feelings of not being
regarded as truly Irish and a consciousness of what Archdeacon Gordon
Linney refers to as “the smothering dominance of Roman Catholicism in
Ireland” feature strongly in the collection, though only one contributor
appears to harbour true bitterness against his treatment as a member of
a minority. And Senator David Norris manages to inject a note of irreverence
by referring to the Sign of Peace now practiced in both Protestant and
Catholic churches as “the liturgical equivalent of lapdancing”. A few
born and raised in the Catholic faith, Olivia O’Leary among them, give
their views on the treatment of Protestants, bringing new perspectives
to an already wide-ranging and engaging book which may help to open minds
to both the differences and similarities in our religious beliefs.
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In Search of Ancient Ireland
by Carmel McCaffrey & Leo Eaton
- In this journey through Ireland’s past, which is a companion to the
PBS television documentary, the authors have covered a period from the
earliest settlers in Ireland to the invasion of the Normans in the twelfth
century. Its association with the television programme is evident in the
extremely visual aspects of the narrative and the introduction of a number
of experts who accompanied McCaffrey and Eaton on their journey around
Ireland. Patrick Wallace, the director of the National Museum of Ireland,
stands on a spot in Dublin and tells them that eight feet below them are
the remains of Viking Dublin, historian Donnchadh O Corrain leads them
to the inauguration site of the Dal Cais where Brian Boru was named as
King of Thomond, archaeologist John Waddell unravels some of the mysteries
of Haughey’s Fort in Co. Armagh and fellow archaeologist Barry Raftery
takes them on a pre-dawn expedition to the Lough Crew tombs. Each of these
experts gives generously of his knowledge and it is in the presentation
of their input that the authors have succeeded in bringing their subject
to life. Though there is much familiar material here, those of us who
think we have a good grasp of Irish history will be challenged by some
of the ideas presented. The first myth to be debunked is that of an invasion
of Celtic people, a school of thought that is abandoned in favour of a
gradual incorporation into Ireland of Celtic culture and language over
a long period of time. Another divergence from the traditional was the
locating of St Patrick’s period of slavery in Ireland in Co. Mayo rather
than on the east coast. The gradual development of a distinctly Irish
monastic system and the successive incursions of Norwegians and Danes
are particularly well documented, with detailed and easily assimilated
descriptions of the turning points in Irish history represented by Brian
Boru and Dermot McMurrough. Hard historical facts are interspersed with
a certain amount of speculation; one suggestion is that Neolithic farming
methods were brought back to Ireland by traders and fishermen since “Irish
people have always had a tendency to wander abroad”. However such interjections
serve to emphasise that the authors have successfully combined the presentation
of information with an appeal to the imagination.
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The Chinook Must Die by Michael
O’Reilly
- Former IDA official and PR consultant Michael O’Reilly has taken the
crash of the Chinook helicopter in 1994 and the deaths of twenty-five
top intelligence officials as the starting point for an ingenious scenario
which sets out to explain just how and why the helicopter came down on
the Mull of Kintyre. With a cast of larger than life characters representing
the IRA, the RUC, British Intelligence and the CIA, the author has woven
a web of intrigue which moves from a backstreet brawl in London to a tautly
executed assassination in New York. O’Reilly has chosen to mix his fictional
characters with real-life participants in the various events covered and
has posited masterplans for both Intelligence and the IRA which are as
drastic as they are outrageous. For one not usually drawn to the political
thriller the plot did not prove too impenetrable, though the twists and
turns, the theories and counter-theories, do take a certain degree of
concentration. The expertise of both terrorists and political forces is
well demonstrated and the near impossibility of ’retiring’ from either
side of the undercover world is convincingly conveyed. O’Reilly has chosen
female characters in a number of the top positions, a fact which in one
case he endeavours to conceal until the end of the book, but the careful
avoidance of the third person singular becomes just a little too obvious.
On the whole, though, his characters are believable, from the higher echelons
of MI5 and MI6 to the young members of the IRA on their Belfast rooftop,
though it is perhaps not quite so easy to accept the warmth in human relationships
shown by coldly calculating hitman Martin Carter, a Vietnam veteran and
member of the CIA. There is plenty of action in Michael O’Reilly’s fast-paced
thriller, and sufficient technical detail to keep James Bond buffs happy,
though the editors might have noticed that identical details about computer
hackers are set out twice in the narrative. This apart, the revelations
about the downing of the Chinook in O’Reilly’s novel are imaginative and
presumably within the realms of possibility.
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Strangford Lough by Thomas Mcerlean,
Rosemary McConkey & Wes Forsythe
- The result of a five-year survey carried out by a team from the Centre
for Marine Archaeology at the University of Ulster, Coleraine, this massive
volume has looked at a wide range of aspects of life on the shores of
Strangford Lough with particular reference to the way in which those who
made their lives there interacted with the lough. In addition to surveying
all the archaeological sites on the shore, the authors have extended their
field to include the intertidal zone and through this measure have revealed
information about how the earlier inhabitants made use of natural resources
for their livelihood. Further investigation in the subtidal area was used
for the location of the shipwrecks which form one section of the book.
The collection of material covers almost every aspect of Strangford Lough
from history and archaeology to local industry such as the production
of kelp. The centres of population are well documented, giving each town’s
location, history and relative importance as a maritime centre. Boats
both ancient and modern, and the fate of many of them, are also chronicled,
and much attention is paid to the wooden and stone fish traps which were
in use up to the 16th century. Published in conjunction with the Environmental
Heritage Service, “Strangford Lough” is the key to a part of Ireland rich
in archaeological heritage.
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The Derry Anthology ed. Sean
McMahon
- The size of this companion volume to Patricia Craig’s “Belfast Anthology”
is testament to the number of people who have felt drawn to writing about
the city of Derry in all its moods. Some of the entries are simple observations,
such as that of Paul Theroux who concludes “But up close, Derry was frightful”.
Others are more complimentary; Sean O’Faolain in “An Irish Journey” pronounces
Derry to be “the loveliest of all Northern cities” and Thomas Carlyle
refers to the city as “rising red and beautiful on elevated hill”. This
goes some way towards counteracting William Bulfin’s description of Derry
as “a lumpy, uneven kind of city” in “Rambles in Eirinn”. The contributions
range from a short observation by John Wesley in 1773 through a description
by John Blake of conditions in Derry during the Second World War to Anita
Robinson’s wonderful description of “the feis mother”. Among the poems
are works by Seamus Heaney, Tom Paulin and Paul Wilkins, there are entries
in both Latin and Irish and the entire collection has been ordered under
thirteen headings which cover aspects of the life of the city both historical
and contemporary. Perhaps the most useful entry for many people will be
the inclusion of Phil Coulter’s “The Town I Loved So Well”, a favourite
song with so many but one for which very few know all the lyrics.
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Roly’s Bistro by Colin O’Daly
& Paul Cartright
- The inner workings of a successful restaurant are interspersed with
recipes for dishes that have undoubtedly contributed to that success.
The authors, both chefs, give an insight into the hectic world of the
restaurant which aims to provide much more than superb food; they look
to offer a warm atmosphere in which people can celebrate the high points
of their lives, have an intimate dinner for two or just relax with the
family. From six o’clock in the morning when the veteran sous chef Matt
Byrne opens up until the last diners have been served late in the evening,
there is scarcely a moment for relaxation. Giving details such as the
best tables for various occasions, the early trips to market and the importance
of their own bakery, O’Daly and Cartright have put into context the number
of beautifully illustrated recipes which are set out in the framework
of the seasons.
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Native Trees & Forests of
Ireland - David Hickie & Mike O’Toole
- In this record of Irish trees and a vision for the future of our forests,
the introduction by Michael Viney and the informative text from David
Hickie are to some extent overshadowed by the wonderful photography of
Mike O’Toole. He has captured both native species and imports, wood living
and dead and in its transformation to works of art. Descriptions of individual
trees and the qualities of their wood make for interesting reading, as
does the chapter on the sixteen Millennium Forests which were planted
with a tree for each household in the country. Arising from the People’s
Millennium Forests Project, the book gives a concise history of the gradual
development of our forests, the depredations by people over the centuries
which led to their demise and the efforts now being undertaken to restore
our woodland heritage. The Woodland Trust has as its aim the acquisition
of ancient woods which would become the responsibility of local communities,
thus involving the people of Ireland in the regeneration of the trees
of Ireland.
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Is That Me? By Anthony Scott
- Although the onset of Anthony Scott’s illness occurred in 1953, when
he was twenty years of age, he did not receive medical treatment for schizophrenia
until three years later, by which time he had begun to fail exams and
had also physically attacked two of his brothers. In this book he gives
an intensely personal account of his gradual withdrawal from reality,
his periods of recovery and the alternate cycles of despair and elation
experienced over a forty-year period. The son of architect Michael Scott,
Anthony had a privileged upbringing, but after a promising academic start
his career prospects plummeted with the development of his illness. His
move to England led to one of the happy periods of his life with his marriage
to Nancy and the birth of their son, Sean. A stable family life was not,
however, possible with the nature of his illness and the changes in his
relationship with both his wife and his son form some of the most painful
episodes in his life. What comes across most strongly, however, is the
honesty with which Scott chronicles his breakdown and the effort he made
to live as normal a life as possible. Anthony died shortly before this
book was published and the book closes with a Postscript written by his
sister, Ciarin, one of those who provided support to him during his long
illness. “Is that me?” is sure to go some way towards educating the general
public about an illness that is particularly prevalent in Ireland.
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Rachel’s Story by Rita O’Dwyer
- Rita and John O’Dwyer suffered what every parent dreads, the death of
a child. In “Rachel’s Story”, Rita has chronicled the two-week period
in which they had to watch their ten-year-old daughter’s sudden illness
turn to a life-threatening condition. Rita kept a diary during this time
and this gives an immediacy to the narrative which makes it all the more
harrowing. She describes her feelings, the swings between hope and despair,
the clutching at straws and the final acceptance that Rachel is not going
to recover. One of the most difficult parts of the whole process for Rita
was having to tell her other three children that Rachel was not going
to survive, with her older sister Laura being affected the most deeply.
Despite the utter sadness of Rachel’s death, the final chapters of this
personal journey into grief have a message of hope in Rita’s efforts to
keep alive her daughter’s memory, and as well as being of comfort to other
parents in similar situations, “Rachel’s Story” will also act as a guide
to those who have to deal with other people’s grief.
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Shackleton by Jonathan Shackleton
and John McKenna
- The authors have portrayed a complex man who never quite realised his
dream, a man who displayed immense endurance on life-threatening expeditions
but who was unable to endure simple domesticity, and a man who strove
all his life to be the first, but was so often eclipsed by others. Many
of his problems were financial, not helped by having to support his mother
and two sisters in addition to his wife and children. There was also the
problem of his brother Frank, at one time the Dublin Herald at the Office
of Arms, who lost his position when suspected of the theft of the official
regalia known as the Irish Crown Jewels. Subtitled “An Irishman in Antarctica”,
the book first establishes Shackleton’s Irish credentials with his birth
in Co. Kildare and a spell in Dublin before the family moved to England.
A few years in the Merchant Navy were followed by Shackleton’s first expedition
to the Antarctic, when he accompanied Robert Scott on the “Discovery”
and it was here that differences between the two men first surfaced. We
are told “Shackleton was unimpressed by his leader, Scott was threatened
by his companion”. A recurring theme throughout the narrative is this
rivalry between the two great explorers, with reasons being put forth
to justify Shackleton’s disaffection. There is no doubt that his greatest
achievement, and the one for which he is best remembered, is the mammoth
journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia to find help for his colleagues
and it is this concern for the men under his command which dominated Shackleton’s
life. This book is an interesting addition to the recent canon of work
on Antarctic explorers.
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Another Time by Colette Dinan
- An account of a childhood spent in Clare in the 1940s and 1950s, this
is told with an exuberance and a palpable zest for life that brings the
time and the place vividly before the reader. Colette Dinan grew up on
a farm in Scariff in a family whose members took a determined part in
all that was on offer in the neighbourhood, including musicals, amateur
drama and sport. Following a general chronological format, she takes us
through the various traditions and diversions of mid-century country life,
the narrative liberally interspersed with contemporary photographs which
serve to underline the atmosphere engendered by the prose. It is somewhat
startling for those of us who remember such times to realise how far distant
they seem in today’s pressurised and stressful world.
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All the Dead Voices by Danny
Morrison
- Danny Morrison, Provisional IRA activist turned writer, allows his mind
to roam through his past life, picking out a number of characters in his
native Belfast who have left their mark on him. Foremost are his parents,
Danny and Susan, who loomed large in his life and had far more influence
that he realized. He also remembers his sister Susan who died in her thirties
and to whom the book is dedicated, and a number of political associates.
His account of the fate of the Quigley brothers and the almost casual
way he reports of deaths among his friends and acquaintances gives names
and faces to thirty years of statistics in the North. Some characters,
like Billy McCullough and his friend Gibbie, have a particular appeal.
They met while hostelling in Scotland and began a friendship which endured
for sixty-five years. Turning to an older conflict, Morrison tells the
story of his wife’s Canadian great-uncle who died during the First World
War, of the woman he left behind who herself died in the Spanish ’Flu
epidemic. The varied cast of characters send the author’s mind off in
many different directions as he reflects on his own political involvement
and his decision to turn to writing.
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Gyr Falcon by Grace Wells
- This first book for children by Grace Wells is an unusual amalgam of
modern day problems and ancient myths, of a boy struggling to come to
terms with the break-up of his family and to find our what he himself
will stand for. Interwoven into the story of Gyr’s life in an isolated
area of Ireland with his mother and his sister Poppy is the philosophy
of Na Fianna and their leader Finn Mac Cumhaill. Named after the bird
of prey, Gyr’s peace and contentment are governed by his ability to pacify
the spirit of the gyrfalcon who seems to dwell within him and who helps
him to come to terms with the realities of his life. Gyr’s struggles and
unhappiness over his father’s defection are tempered by the thrill of
travelling back in time with Finn Mac Cumhail and the light relief offered
by his sister Poppy who is addicted to rhyming. This is a book which will
appeal to the imagination and perhaps offer consolation to children in
a similar situation.
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Points for Parents by Marie
Murray
- This is a practical guide for parents who are for the first time approaching
the milestone of having a son or daughter sitting the Leaving Certificate.
The advice ranges from tips on helping your child to establish good study
practice to a guide to signs of depression that might need medical intervention.
A series of suggestions is given as to how to start a conversation with
your child without seeming to be intrusive or further increasing any stress
already felt, and the author also suggests a number of different “treats”
which might help motivate the student. The after-effects of this milestone
are also dealt with in a chapter entitled “The ’Ibiza’ Syndrome” and Ms
Murray has included an extensive bibliography for those who feel they
would like to explore the subject further.
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Victor Bewley’s Memoirs by
Fiona Murdoch
- Victor Bewley’s granddaughter has compiled this memoir from a series
of interviews carried out in 1995. It speaks of a man born into privilege
who had an overwhelming sense of duty which led him into a business for
which he had no real inclination. Even towards the end of his life he
maintained that the famous Bewley’s Oriental Cafe would not have been
his preferred occupation, but he felt he had no option but to continue
the family tradition. However the book touches on many aspects of the
life of this man who had a genuine concern for others, who fought long
and hard for improvements for Travellers and who also played a significant
part in facilitating cross-border talks in the 1970s. His religion, he
was a member of the Society of Friends, was very important to him and
coloured all of his actions including the measures he took in his company
to involve all his employees in decision-making. He lived through most
of the twentieth century and his memories chronicle the history of the
State and the changing attitudes to both life and commerce.
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Textual Practice ed. Lucy McDiarmid
- This edition of Textual Practices focuses on ways in which the Irish
have maintained the memory of important events in the history of the country.
An article by the editor considers the way in which the people of Kerry
have revised the account of the perceived betrayal of Roger Casement by
a number of locals to the point at which “the stories emphasise the hospitality,
not the capture”. Margaret Kelleher examines the number of monuments raised
on both sides of the Atlantic to the Great Irish Famine, with particular
reference to those erected during the sesquicentenary of the event. Among
other contributors are Adrian Frazier on stain glass artist Harry Clarke
and Hugh Haughton on the poetry of Derek Mahon, while a number of book
reviews complete the contents.
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Off the Wall ed. Niall MacMonagle
- The title tells everything about this collection of poems for all seem
to have an offbeat theme, whether it be Fleur Adcock’s assumption of Emily
Bronte’s life in “Roles” or the short observation contained in Brendan
Kennelly’s “To No One”. Julie O’Callaghan, who has several entries, cuts
through the sentiment of islanders returning to their former homes with
the blunt “Listen mister, most of us cry sooner or later Over a Great
Blasket of our own.” Iggy McGovern realises the futility of his entering
the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award and closes his aptly titled “On Not
Winning the Paddy Kavanagh Award for the Umpteenth Time” with the lines
“..for, truth to tell, I doubt, O Lord, If Paddy Kavanagh would win The
Paddy Kavanagh Award!” This is a collection which will divert and amuse
while challenging the reader to look at life from a tangent.
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New Hibernia Review ed. Thomas
Dillon Redshaw
- Among articles in the latest edition of this review, published by the
Centre for Irish Studies in St Thomas’ University, Elizabeth Campbell
examines the role of the Irish detective in the mid-18th century, Gearoid
Denvir looks at the effects of tourism on the survival of the Irish language
and Don Meade looks to the woman celebrated in the traditional music piece
“Kitty O’Neil’s Champion Jig”. Poetry by Mary O’Malley and considerations
of aspects of the work of Synge and Heaney are also included, as are a
number of book reviews.
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