Irish Emigrant Book Review, No. 34 (May 1998)

Annals of the Famine in Ireland edited by Maureen Murphy
- Asenath Nicholson’s remarkable “Annals of the Famine in Ireland”, edited by Maureen Murphy, is an eyewitness account of the suffering of the people of Ireland during the Famine years, providing first hand testimony to the inefficiency and uncaring attitude of many of those whose task it was to relieve that suffering. Asenath Nicholson was born in New England into a family which embraced the Congregational Church, and she decided to visit Ireland after the death of her husband. Having had what she believed to be a Divine calling to travel to Ireland, she declared her mission to be “To bring the Bible to the Irish poor”. In the event she brought so much more, spending four years travelling round the country trying to alleviate, as best she could and with the help of donations from America and England, the plight of those she whose misery she witnessed. Ms Nicholson describes her lodgings in Dublin, where she began her charitable work: “.....my bed was a short sofa, or apology for one, placed in the middle of barrels of meal, spread upon blankets on the floor, and one crazy old chair, which served to make out my lodging at night and provide a seat while copying manuscripts, an old deal table, with a New York Tribune for a table-cloth.....”. Indeed, one of her recurring criticisms is of the comparatively luxurious living conditions of those officials who had responsibility for dispensing relief to the poor.
Ms Nicholson was a woman who spoke her mind and, while criticising when she thought it necessary, was also very complimentary of a number of clergymen who helped the hungry without any attempt to proselytise, and she was particularly impressed by the way in which members of the Society of Friends went quietly about the task of relieving the distress caused by hunger and disease. One chapter deals at length with the different religions practised in Ireland at the time and she has particular praise for the way in which the Catholic clergy knew by name all those in their care. All in all Asenath Nicholson has bequeathed a realistic and vivid portrayal of conditions in Ireland at the time of the Famine, and the expression of her personal views adds a particular interest to the narrative. In editing the volume, Maureen Murphy has provided detailed and informative notes on each chapter which offer an overview of the entire period and are a general aid to understanding.

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Tread Softly on My Dreams by Gretta Curran Browne
- In “Tread Softly on My Dreams”, her first novel, Gretta Curran Browne has fictionalised the many strands of rebellion in Ireland in the years from 1798 to 1803, concentrating on the involvement of Robert Emmet, his capture, trial and execution. The novel complements the many books being published this year which present the historical facts of that time, many concentrating on a specific area of the country, and gives the reader a feeling for the humanity of the range of characters from Wolfe Tone to Lord Edward Fitzgerald to Emmet himself. Perhaps in a more detailed way Ms Curran Browne contrasts the characters of the two women in Emmet’s life, the mentally frail and genteel Sarah Curran, daughter of John Philpot Curran, and Anne Devlin, the Wicklow woman and cousin of Michael Dwyer whose strength of character was admired by Emmet though his love was given to Sarah. The contrast is nicely drawn between the comfortable but lonely existence of Sarah in Rathfarnham and the more humble but infinitely happier condition of the Devlin household in Wicklow. Between these two sites and the Liberties area of Dublin the action moves, with great attention to detail in what is obviously a well-researched piece of writing. There are also occasional forays to France where Emmet’s exiled brother Thomas is endeavouring to secure French assistance for the struggle to end the union between Ireland and Britain.
It becomes apparent during the course of the narrative that Ireland’s hopes for freedom were always to be damned by those of her citizens who turned informer; no matter how trustworthy those close to Emmet and the other leaders of the abortive 1803 rising appeared to be, there were always a handful whose greed outweighed their love of country. Again Ms Curran Browne presents us with a contrasting range of characters, those who remain steadfast to the point of death and those who see a quick way to ensure their financial comfort for life. The trial of Robert Emmet and his famous speech from the dock are dealt with in detail, and his part in the narrative is concluded with his final words as he faces execution: “My friends, I die in peace.”
Although “Tread Softly On My Dreams” is not for the serious historian, it nevertheless gives the general reader sufficient historical detail to make it more than just a historical novel, and the Author’s Note chronicling the subsequent fate of the major characters is a helpful and interesting addition.

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Only Sometimes Looking Sideways by Polly Devlin
- In “Only Sometimes Looking Sideways”, a collection of essays which first appeared in her column in Image magazine, Polly Devlin ranges widely over a number of subjects dear to her heart, from the reseeding of a field in Somerset with wild flowers, to the inattention paid to women artists through the centuries, and thus strikes a chord with many of her readers. While she was given no set theme for the series of articles, Ms Devlin’s childhood in Co. Tyrone is a constant presence, providing a contrast with the sophisticated world of high fashion which she encountered at the age of nineteen, and a reference point for the many different situations in which she found herself over the years.
The essays can be quite serious in intent, for example her passionate plea for the saving of the hare, “the stag of the stubble”, or utterly ludicrous, as when she describes a night spent by herself and her reluctant husband sleeping out of doors in a Somerset field. And here is an example of the way in which Ardboe colours her later life; this desire to sleep under the stars goes back to the envy she felt when a couple of boy scouts from Warrenpoint arrived at their farm to camp out in the fields when she was a child.
A procession of interesting characters pass through the pages of Ms Devlin’s collection. Diana Vreeland, editor of Harper’s Bazaar and American Vogue who became for her the arbiter of style; the Vere Fosters of Glyde Court in Louth; Peggy Guggenheim whom she describes as “an addict of life”. Her career also led her to interview such notable personalities as Empress Farah Diba of Iran, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Oliver Messel and Janis Joplin, but she never lost her particularly Northern sense of humour, and this is admirably illustrated in “Home Thoughts From Abroad” and “The Rescue Operation”. Her twin interests in dogs and interior design also figure prominently in these pages, while her frequent drawing on the lines of other writers complements her chosen themes.

The Banshee by Patricia Lysaght
- : The Irish Supernatural Death Messenger”, has also written “A Pocket Book of the Banshee”, which gives an overview of the place of the Banshee in Irish life through the centuries. Ms Lysaght, a lecturer in the Department of Irish Folklore in UCD, has made extensive use of archive material and quotes directly from interviews with people who claim to have seen or heard the supernatural phenomenon. One such man in Co. Laois described the sound thus: “It’s like a desperate human cry, as if someone was in terrible stress, and screaming for someone to come to them”. Reports on the appearance of the banshee are also recorded, as are all the Irish families believed to be followed by this female messenger of death.

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Unlegendary Heroes by Mary O’Donnell
- Monaghan-born Mary O’Donnell’s third collection of poetry, “Unlegendary Heroes”, spans the themes of family, centred on her border childhood, and the highs and lows of human experience. The title poem takes as its starting point a 1938 Folklore survey of South Ulster and lists such local “heroes” as
“Mary Conlon, Tullyree, who wrote poems at night.”
and
“Rosie McCrudden, Aghabog, noted for clean boots, winter or summer, often beaten by her father.”
A series of poems in the second part of the collection carries the theme of human endurance in the loneliness and pain of an approaching abortion, “a mistake from the doll factory”, in which O’Donnell traces the secretive journey from Dublin to Scandinavia and home again when “Her doll is quite still”.
- It is the stone and lichens, the wind and the water around Lough Mask in his native Mayo that enliven “Journey Backward”, a collection of the poems of Tom O’Malley. He is fascinated with the shapes and textures to be found in the landscape, one rock
“...sliced thin from a massive sliced pan, its end still joined to its loaf of rock,...”
In the waters of a lake he discovers a world of female forms where the
“...pestle-on-mortar effect scoops out caverned rock.”
The image of a turlough as a timeshare between a farmer and fishermen is particularly striking, as is that of the Sceilig Michael huts being a
“...rock clutch of some archaic seabird, its nestlings, long since hatched, fledged and flown off out of history - ...”
while a note of humour is apparent in “Liberation” and “Rivals”.

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The New Irish Americans by Ray O’Hanlon
- “The New Irish Americans”, looks at the wave of emigrants who arrived in the US during the 1980s, and their subsequent struggle to achieve legal status. He chronicles the development of the Irish Immigration Reform Movement as a response to this struggle, and the role played by the Irish-American press in furthering the cause of legality, particularly the emergence of Niall O’Dowd’s “Irish Voice” as a medium for the new educated immigrants from Ireland. The role of politicians in coming to the aid of illegal immigrants, and in working towards bringing together both sides in the North of Ireland, form a major section of this very enlightening work.

Rebellion - A Television History of 1798 by Thomas Bartlett, Kevin Dawson and Daire Keogh
- “Rebellion - A Television History of 1798” has been written by Thomas Bartlett, Kevin Dawson and Daire Keogh and is based on the current RTE television series of the same name. The authors give a comprehensive view of the 1798 Rising from its roots in the conditions of the time, the influences of the American and French revolutions, the rising itself and the sectarianism which erupted in its aftermath. The book is lavishly illustrated with contemporary paintings and drawing of both places and important personalities, though I think the authors will find that Florence Court, which, according to the caption is in Co. Armagh, is actually not far from Enniskillen in Co. Fermanagh. “Rebellion” is the most comprehensible account of this period in our history that I have so far encountered, and is ideal for the layperson who is looking for some understanding of the subject.

The Long March by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
- In “The Long March”, children’s writer Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick has taken the story of the Choctaw donation to famine-stricken Ireland in 1947 and woven a tale which underlines the universality of suffering. Fourteen-year-old Choona hears for the first time the story of the “trail of tears”, when his tribe were uprooted from Mississippi and forced to march west to the New Lands, which later became Oklahoma. His father and great-grandmother help him to realise that, by helping another troubled nation, they are also able to better understand their own history.

The Sleeping Giant by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
- winner of the Bisto Book of the Year Award, is the delightful “The Sleeping Giant”, a whimsical tale of an island off the coast of Kerry that comes to life in the form of a giant from a former age. Both the story and the detailed illustrations ensure an appeal to both adults and children and the book is perfect reading-aloud material.

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