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Irish Emigrant Book Review, No.92 (Mar 2003)
Ireland Unbound
ed. Mary P. Corcoran and Michel Peillon
Subtitled “A Turn of the Century Chronicle”, this collection of essays
takes a look at the way in which Ireland has changed and continues to
change as we move into the 21st century. In his introduction, Michel Peillon
reflects on the circumstances through which Ireland has moved from a pre-industrial
to a post-industrial world without passing through the intermediate industrial
age. Many of the contributors focus on the way in which the coming of
the “Celtic Tiger” has changed our way of life and our reaction to increased
prosperity. Tom Inglis of UCD in “Pleasure Pursuits” reflects on the changing
attitudes to food, drink and sexual activity, attributing it to “a shift
from a culture of self-denial to one of self-indulgence”. Kieran Keohane
and Derek Chambers deal with the subject of suicide in Ireland and introduce
the concept of the collision culture, brought about by a too-rapid progression
from a predominantly rural and strongly religious community to the more
modern society produced by the economic boom of the 1990s. In his contribution,
“The House that Jack Built”, Stephen Quilley addresses the disagreement
between Jack Fitzsimons, author of “Bungalow Bliss”, and environmentalist
Frank McDonald whose “Bungalow Blitz” attacked the “spreading fungus”
of the proliferation of ribbon development bungalows in Ireland. Quilley,
however, points the finger at the country’s planning laws rather than
the architectural qualities of the bungalows as being the main problem.
A further observation on planning laws is contained in Mary P. Corcoran’s
“On the Waterfront” in which she examines the way in which a Dublin inner
city community fought a major development. She cites the number of ways
in which the people living in the Spencer Dock area put forward arguments
against the development which would have totally altered their own city
“village”. Among the twenty contributors to this insightful collection,
Volume 3 of the Irish Sociological Chronicles, are Jane Gray of NUI, Maynooth,
Hilary Tovey of Trinity College Dublin, Armen Kuhling of University of
Limerick and Ciaran McCullagh of University College Cork.
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Half Moon Lake
by Una Brankin
Although much of the narrative of Una Brankin’s novel is set in the mid-1970s,
the ambience of this novel is more 1950s or early 1960s. The unfortunate
and unlovely Grace, overshadowed by her beautiful widowed mother, yearns
for something though she is unsure what that is until a stranger lands
on their doorstep. Thus unfolds a story of mystery and violence, of discrimination
and tragedy but also a story of first and only love for Grace. The Antrim
village of Preacher’s Bay is filled with easily identifiable characters
for anyone who has lived in a small Irish community. Here are the gossips
and begrudgers, the bitter inter-family fighting, but also the caring
neighbours who rally round in times of trouble. The hot summer of 1976
is contrasted with Grace’s final days twenty years on, when the traditional
Irish fight over land affects three members of the next generation in
differing ways. The two land-hungry brothers, Ignatius and Bobby, and
their sister Georgina, visit their ailing aunt in hospital where, though
apparently unconscious, she is fully aware of her surroundings. The gradual
transformation of Georgina in her feelings towards her aunt and the farm
at Preacher’s Bay is sensitively handled, as is the device of moving between
the two parts of Grace’s life. However when the narrative appears to be
moving smoothly towards a predictable conclusion, Ms Brankin jerks the
reader out of his or her complacency with an unexpected but somehow inevitable
starkness. It is refreshing to read a book set in the North that isn’t
totally focused on the ongoing conflict, and “Half Moon Lake” has successfully
underlined the fact that for many the perennial problems of everyday life
have more far reaching effects that any potential violence.
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January Colours
by Curtis Adler
Using the total redecoration of a room in a large south Dublin house as
a metaphor for the transformation of a life, Curtis Adler examines the
relationship between Paul and his wife Margaret, who have recently split
up. The gradual laying bare of the original plaster, the peeling away
of layer after layer of unnecessary covering to reach the basic surface,
and the care with which Paul repairs the imperfections, foreshadow the
attention he will give to the saving of his marriage. An American now
living in Dublin, he finds himself set adrift and, in endeavouring to
make sense of his life, undertakes the redecoration as part payment of
rent. The story of the troubled marriage is intertwined with the black
comedy of Martin Walsh’s efforts to raise much-needed cash by killing
off one of his elderly female relatives, and the contemporary tragedy
of a drug-related killing. However the main thrust of the narrative focuses
on the insecurities and aspirations of Paul and Margaret Boyle, and the
threats to their marriage both perceived and imagined. Over many of the
intertwining threads of “January Colours” hovers the figure of Mamie McDevitt,
friend and confidante who has known tragedy in her own life and whose
wisdom and kindness are instrumental in the resolution of Paul and Margaret’s
differences. The author has brought together the ethical problems of big
business, the consequences of social deprivation, the difficulties of
a gay man trapped in marriage, the temptations of a financial killing
and a brief reference to the Northern troubles in a novel which explores
life in contemporary Dublin. The characters are well-drawn and the pace
is unflagging, though the author has not been consistently successful
in marrying the different strands of the narrative. However the contrasting
figures of Paul, Martin, Tony and Declan serve to underline the diversity
of life in our capital city.
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”That Could
Never Be” by Kevin Dalton with Patrick Semple
These were the words uttered by one of the young Kevin’s benefactors when
he first intimated that his goal in life was ordination in the Church
of Ireland. And Mrs Kemiss had reason for her initial reaction, for Kevin
had been brought up in two different orphanages and had virtually no education.
Indeed his eventual entry into Trinity came only after he had sat the
Latin exam a total of nine times. The author was persuaded by his fellow
cleric Patrick Semple that the life he looked on as very ordinary was
in fact an extraordinary story which would interest many people. Kevin
was born to an unmarried young Catholic woman who had him baptised in
the Catholic Church. However she had opted to move into a Church of Ireland
home for the birth of her son, possibly because she was aware of the conditions
in the Catholic-run homes at the time. She cared for him herself for the
first two years of his life and spent the next seven years visiting him
in a Protestant-run orphanage in Dublin. When he was moved to an all-male
facility in Limerick, however, her visits stopped and he has no idea of
her subsequent history. A series of fortuitous events led to Kevin being
taken on by Mr and Mrs Kemiss to run their chicken farm in Co. Tipperary,
and the Kemmises continued to provide occasional financial support for
him during his years as a student. Indeed it is remarkable that a number
of people backed his ambition to become a clergyman with financial aid,
aid which he seems to have taken rather for granted. These included P.D.
Odlum, the proprietor of the mill where Kevin worked prior to entering
Trinity, the university itself, John Galvin and the Church of Ireland
grants committee. The latter part of the book includes some anecdotes
about difficult or particularly pleasant parishioners as it chronicles
his progression from curate in Stillorgan to his own parish in Monkstown,
a progression which also saw him marry and have two daughters. While the
author has tales to tell of the rigours of living in an orphanage with
less than sympathetic guardians, there is little bitterness in his writing,
either towards those charged with his care or towards his absent mother.
He is full of admiration for her courage in not giving him up for adoption,
a decision which he acknowledges was a courageous one in the moral climate
of the period. And it would seem that her son inherited both her courage
and determination in achieving ordination from such an unpromising beginning.
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The Honest Liar
by Ray Geaney
Ray Geaney’s novel is littered with more corpses than the final scene
of Hamlet, with deaths from a car crash, cancer, goring by a bull and
diabetes-induced gangrene taking up the dramatic slack from tales of seduction,
clerical and lay infidelity, the switching of babies in the cradle and
the deathbed confessions of a guilt-ridden mother. Set in the County Cork
parish of Kilkree in the middle of the last century, the story centres
around Gubnet, the priest’s housekeeper, whose schemes to win her man
and overcome all her problems would put Machiavelli to shame. She manages
to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes in order to attain her heart’s desire,
and the chronicle of events become more and more ridiculous as the story
unfolds. However the dafter it became the more intrigued I became as to
the outcome and the author has thrown in enough new twists in the final
pages to keep the attention to the last full stop. A suspension of disbelief
is entirely necessary to, but will also ensure, the enjoyment of this
first novel.
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The Dublin Review
- ed Brendan Barrington
Editor Brendan Barrington has continued his success in attracting a varied
and interesting group of contributors to the Spring 2003 edition of the
quarterly literary magazine. Benedict Anderson takes us on a journey of
discovery into his Irish roots, throwing up a series of ’interesting’
ancestors by using the system of selective ancestry apparently practiced
by primitive people. Andrew O’Hagan allows us to read a Dublin diary which
introduces both literary and academic characters, and Caitriona Crowe
examines The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing, Volumes IV and V, compiled
over an eleven-year period to counteract the paucity of women writers
in the first three-volume edition. Other contributors include Patrick
Crotty, Harry Browne, Justin Quinn, Elaine Garvey and Philip Ó
Ceallaigh.
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Juliet’s Story
by William Trevor
William Trevor’s only book for children is a spellbinding series of stories
within a story, featuring Juliet from Tipperary who is taken on a journey
by her grandmother to help her get over the death of her storytelling
friend, Paddy Old. The stories told by Paddy Old, by Juliet’s Grandmamma
and by the French toymaker are woven into her journey through Ireland,
Wales, England and France, where her adventures lead to the creation of
her own story. “Juliet’s Story” has a whimsical note which ensures its
appeal to both adult and children.
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Beyond the Green
Hills by Anne Doughty
In this sequel to “On a Clear Day” the author takes us further into the
life of Clare Hamilton, orphaned at an early age and now grieving for
her grandfather, with only the love of her fiance Andrew Richardson to
keep her going. Their plans for emigration to Canada and marriage fall
asunder when Andrew has to take responsibility for the decaying family
fortunes on the sudden death of his cousin, Edward. At this point in the
story I lost sympathy with Clare who seemed to act totally out of character
by breaking off her engagement when Andrew was forced to pull out of their
Canadian plans. The account of her subsequent adventures in Paris and
London following a career in finance provide a good story line, but for
this reader interest was revived only when the narrative returned to Belfast
and her troubled friends Jessie and Harry. Inevitably Andrew and Clare
are reconciled and she returns to her beloved Armagh, but though this
second novel does capture the imagination, it doesn’t quite have the appeal
of the first.
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Eat With Joy
by Ann O’Dowd Fogarty
Ann O’Dowd Fogarty’s guide to eating on a wheat-free and gluten-free diet
is much more than a simple cookery book, containing as it does advice
on achieving health and harmony through the holistic approach. A lengthy
introduction giving guidelines on the preservation of the prana or life
force is followed by details of the nutritional value of a number of foods
and a further section on food shopping, storage and preparation. The recipes
themselves, many of which are also dairy-free, are presented under various
headings including Breakfast, Vegetarian Dishes, Lunch Box Ideas and Baking,
and the author includes a reading list for those who would like to further
their interest in the holistic approach to health. “Eat With Joy” was
shortlisted for the Gourmand World Cookbook Award 2001.
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Jenny Bristow
Cooks for the Seasons by Jenny Bristow
In this Spring and Summer edition of her cookery book, Jenny Bristow sets
out some mouth-watering recipes for cooking both indoors and out. Following
the “Al Fresco” section, Jenny Bristow has included the usual categories
of recipes but also gives the reader a selection of dishes to serve at
Easter time and some recipes for drinks, from mint julep to sangria. The
book has been published in association with her new television series
and outstanding in its production is the quality of the photographs accompanying
the recipes.
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