Irish Emigrant Book Review, No. 24 (July 1997)

Undertow by Tom Foote
- From a personal experience of coming into close contact with a large ship while sailing in Galway Bay, first time author Tom Foote has created a fast-paced tale of arms-running intrigue, involving the IRA and Middle Eastern arms dealers, which holds the attention from start to finish. In “Undertow”, the encounter with a large vessel in the bay which rams the yacht piloted by Jim Prendergast, killing his wife and daughter in the process, marks the beginning of a saga which leads from the border counties of Ireland to Malta and beyond, with much of the action also centring in Galway. The many strands of the plot draw in the British Ambassador to Ireland, MI6, northern members of the IRA, Middle Eastern arms suppliers and the evil Foster, whose shadowy figure is present from beginning to end.. While being a devotee of neither thriller nor sailing-based stories, I found “Undertow” to be a compelling narrative which does not blind with too much nautical detail. The action moves along smoothly and interest is maintained, though one needs a fairly strong stomach for some of the more violent passages. Tom Foote’s second novel is well under way and will be eagerly anticipated by those who have read and enjoyed a very impressive literary debut.

The Story of the Claddagh Ring by Sean McMahon
Derryman Sean McMahon not only gives the historical background to this famous design, but also much historical and mythical information concerning Galway city and the unique Claddagh district. He takes a close look at this fishing community down through the centuries, quoting from such figures as James Hardiman and author Stephen Gwynn, and regrets that, “As with many another antique curiosity, interest in preservation came too late”. McMahon also goes into some detail with the story of Margaret of the Bridges, or Margaret Joyce, on whom the first Claddagh ring was supposed to have fallen when an eagle flew overhead while she sat on the banks of the Corrib.

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From Civil Rights to Armalites by Niall O Dochartaigh
Niall O Dochartaigh has compiled a most interesting and valuable history of the beginning of “The Troubles” in Derry. He makes the point that it is in the accumulation of local detail we see the clearest picture of the development of the Troubles. Many have an overview or general idea of the course of these, but the author is exceptionally clear in placing the developments in their correct context. While he largely ignores the happenings in Belfast, which were also of exceptional importance, he rightly emphasises the role of Derry in the beginning of the demands for Catholic rights. His treatment is even-handed. He indicates that there were no deep Republican plots but that trouble feeds on trouble and the Republicans simply took advantage of the changing situation. He makes it clear, however, that Republicans did not instigate the trouble. Rather it was the presence of large numbers of unemployed Catholic youths which ensured that, even when the original grievances were well on the way to being addressed, the disturbances continued. Indeed, these increased when the army took over policing duties from the RUC. In general, this book is well written and provides invaluable information for anyone who is interested in the Troubles.

The Historical Dimensions of Irish Catholicism by Emmet Larkin
This book is the reprint of a series of three articles which appeared originally in the American Historical Review, with an introduction by the author Emmet Larkin, Professor of History at the University of Chicago. Entitled Economic Growth, Capital Investment, and the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland; The Devotional Revolution in Ireland, 1850-1875; and Church, State, and Nation in Modern Ireland, the articles open with the remarkable fact that, in 1825 the Archbishop of Armagh was able to send only IR20 for the rebuilding of St Paul’s Basilica in Rome, while 75 years later his successor was able to make an annual donation of IR600, and had “cleared over thirty thousand pounds in a single bazaar for the purpose of decorating the interior of his cathedral”. It is also interesting to note that, as a result of the devotional revolution, the rate of Mass attendance rose from 33 per cent, just prior to the famine, to 90 per cent in less than fifty years, with a concomitant increase in the number of clergy. The final section, dealing with the church’s influence on the State, touches on the Land League and the role of the church in the emerging republic.

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Smile and be a Villain by Niall Toibin
It would be difficult for anything emanating from this very funny man to be other than entertaining, and this book is no exception. With photographs of family and friends in the world of theatre, this account of his life is required reading for all Toibin fans.

The Shadow Keeper by Jean O’Brien
Jean O’Brien’s first collection, focuses on relationships from the perspective of different generations, the mother’s concern for her daughter, the daughter’s rebellion against her parents’ advice, the poet’s thoughts as her father dies. In a clear and direct voice she conveys her own changing perspective from child to adult, in the two poems “Sisters” and “Staying with the Nuns”. For a child, they “chased away learning and religion” and still, as an adult, she found herself “smiling appeasement at the sisters”.

Midcentury by Ben Howard
- “Midcentury”, a verse novella by Ben Howard, takes as its theme the journey of an American lexicographer who takes refuge in the Ireland of the 1940s. From Dublin to Armagh, Monaghan and Kerry the poet captures the atmosphere of the “Emergency” using details drawn from acknowledged sources, while at the same time exploring what he terms
“........... for lack of better words, My private War, my soul’s Emergency”
giving the reader glimpses of the life in America from which he has fled.

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A Biographical Dictionary of Irish Quakers by Richard S. Harrison
- Richard S. Harrison, who is himself a member of the Society of Friends, has compiled “A Biographical Dictionary of Irish Quakers” which manages to put a human face on a group of people about whom most of us have only the vaguest notion. Sample entries include Abraham Abell whose custom was “to sit with a tomcat on his shoulders and with one on each side of him when he was at work”; Paul Abbott of North Abbey, Youghal who, on encountering privateers on board one of his ships gave his identity as Paul........ Abbott of North Abbey, Youghal, and was left unharmed; and Archibald and Isaac Woods whom the author describes as “Signally inept bankrobbers, reputedly Quakers”. They broke into the bank beside their grocers shop in Wexford and hid the proceeds in the large kettle which hung outside their premises as a shop sign.

The First Chapter Act Book of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 1574-1634 edited by Raymond Gillespie
- An insight into life in the late 16th - early 17th century may be gained by a perusal of “The First Chapter Act Book of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 1574-1634”, edited by Raymond Gillespie. The Chapter met a number of times each year and regulated the lives of those attached to the cathedral as well as dealing with land rentals. Taken from the original records kept at the cathedral, the book details events such as the appointment of a vicar, the sanctioning of building work and the punishment attendant on absence from morning prayer: “.. That every Clerke and conduct shall come dailie to morninge prayer, (except hee have a lawfull excuse or be lycensed otherwise to bee absent) whosoever neglect to come shall loose ij d ster[ling], and his commons for that daie tociens quociens.”

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The Great Melody by Conor Cruise O’Brien
- The bicentenary of the death of Edmund Burke has led to the reissuing, in an abridged version, of Conor Cruise O’Brien’s “The Great Melody”. Published to great critical acclaim five years ago, the book in its now shortened version is a sympathetic account of Burke’s life and his three great crusades involving America, India and Ireland as well as his reactions to the revolution in France. O’Brien recognises the ambivalence caused by Burke’s own religious and cultural background and the effect this had on his perception of other colonial conflicts.

Edmund Burke - His Life and Legacy edited by Ian Crowe
- Taking a different approach Ian Crowe, a member of the Edmund Burke Society, has edited a series of essays dealing with Burke’s influence on political thought during the last two hundred years. With contributions from a range of academics including Prof. L. M. Cullen, Lord Plant of Highfield and Peter J. Stanlis, and politicians John Redwood and Sir Robert Rhodes James, “Edmund Burke - His Life and Legacy” covers the spectrum from his views on the American Revolution to his relevance to American Conservatism after 1945.

Colum Cille and the Columban Tradition by Brian Lacey
- Drawing on the works of Bede, Adomnan and Manus O’Donnell, in “Colum Cille and the Columban Tradition” Brian Lacey attempts to present in a digestible form much that is known of the saint who is being remembered this year especially, the 1,400th anniversary of his death. In addition to giving us an overview of his life, the author examines the influence of Colum Cille’s monastic institution on religious life throughout the British Isles, bringing us forward to the celebrations in Derry in 1897 and the rebuilding of the Long Tower church. Lacey also includes stories which are legend rather than historical fact, but sets them in the context in which they grew.

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Studies in the Cult of Saint Columba edited by Cormac Bourke
Topics covered include a discussion of the monastery of Iona at the time of Adomnan in the seventh century, contributed by Aidan MacDonald of UCC; two chapters on relics associated with the saint, by Raghnall O Floinn of the National Museum, and the editor respectively; and a series of maps giving places in Britain and Ireland associated with Columba and his followers.

Irish Television, the Political and Social Origins by Robert J. Savage
- Compared with our closest neighbours, Ireland came comparatively late to the world of national television and it was only at the beginning of the 1960s that the first home-produced programmes were beamed into the small number of households owning a television set. In “Irish Television, the Political and Social Origins”, Robert J. Savage gives an interesting examination of the forces, commercial, political and social, which led to the decision to inaugurate our own station. The British influence was, of course, strong, as the BBC was proposed by some as the template on which we should model our own programmes, and the Church voiced its views on the possible influence such an innovation might have on the populace. However it was generally felt that the programme content of a national station could at least be monitored, unlike that of the stations in the North, and in Wales to which those living in the east of the country had access.

John Banville - A Critical Introduction by Rudiger Imhof
- Reissued in response to the novelist’s most recent works, Rudiger Imhof’s “John Banville - A Critical Introduction” takes a careful look at his novels in the context of the development of the Irish genre as a whole, devoting a separate chapter to each work. Imhof, Professor of English Literature and Anglo-Irish Literature at Wuppertal University, has included three new chapters to cover Banville’s trilogy, “The Book of Evidence”, “Ghosts” and “Athena”, and is regarded as the principle authority on his subject matter which he presents in a very readable fashion.

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