Read Ireland Book Reviews, March 2000

Ireland with the SAS by ‘Jackie George’
Until recently, only those ‘in the know’ even knew of the existence of 14 Intelligence Company. The membership of this highly trained elite was classified TOP SECRET for obvious reasons: the Company, working hand in glove with the SAS, was at the cutting edge of the bitter fight against Republican and Loyalist terrorism in Northern Ireland. The public was therefore unaware that, contrary to repeated denials, women were playing a vital role in the group’s operational mission. Not only did their presence provide ‘cover’ for their male colleagues, but the female operators had special skills and aptitude for such work. ‘Jackie George’ was one such operator and in this book she reveals in gripping detail the demanding training and nerve-jangling operations that she and her fellow agents undertook.

A Short History of Dublin by Pat Boran
This account is a canter through Dublin in all the ages of prehistory and history: as Viking settlement, medieval town and capital of colonised Ireland. Many of the events to which the city was host were tragic - tragic too were the poverty and disease that were rife until well into the 20th century. But Dublin had its eras of glory - architectural, literary and political - and the author charts these too, with great affection.

Fool of the Family: A Life of J.M. Synge by W. J. McCormack
In this authoritative biography, the author details the complex religious and social environment in which Synge slowly refined his talents as a writer. This is a story of suburban disinheritance, nondescript education, and sexual immaturity leading to eventual self-discovery, through the landscape of County Wicklow and the West of Ireland. Synge’s reading in Gaelic literature is important, as is his European sense of modern alienation. The Abbey Theatre of Yeats and Lady Gregory provided a platform for his dramatic debut, but James Joyce emerged as his closer soulmate. In Europe a cultural revolution was unfolding with Freud, Thomas Mann and Max Weber publishing their seminal works, and the Dreyfus Affair scandalising Paris. McCormack’s biography places Synge in this context and illuminate s his contribution to the spirit of the age. This book is rich in domestic detail, carefully demonstrating the writer’s place in a web of relationships - with his mother, his brothers (at home and abroad), and especially his two nephews whom he appointed heirs to his literary estate. McCormack has drawn on a huge amount of previously unpublished material to produce a fresh an d extremely lively account of this great man’s life and works in which he explodes many of the conventional assumptions about turn-of-the-century Ireland, about Irish Protestantism and about Synge’s beliefs and personality.

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Complete Guide to Celtic Mythology by Bob Curran
Specially written, illustrated and designed for the general reader, this book is a superb introduction to one of the world’s richest mythologies - and one which is of exceptional interest today through its involvement with nature and with the spiritual and poetic aspects of life. Nine main sections cover the different aspects of Celtic myth and legend, and the ‘windows’ complement the main text with a host of key stories and individuals.

Annals of the Postage Stamp by David Rose
This book is a handbook listing many, if not all, of the efforts that have been made to overcome difficulties, and also to enhance the appearance of the stamp. Section one of this book traces the evolution of the postage stamp and its usages world-wide. Section two lists the Stamp Issuing Authorities of the world chronologically. Section Three chronologizes the Local issues of the United States from 1838 to 1864. Section Four alphabetically lists the currencies that states use. And section five is a chronological lists of currencies in the order in which they first appeared on stamps from the British penny in 1840 to the Welsh penny, or ‘Ceiniog’, first recognised in 1998.

Blowin’ in the Wind by Terri Shoosmith
A novel which asks the question: Will the real Jane Henshaw please step forward? Jane Henshaw has the perfect life: a handsome husband, a precocious daughter, a lovely home in a yuppie village. Then she realise s her life is a sham. Leaving husband, daughter and English yuppiedom, she discovers Ireland and the charismatic Ben who rules his little Utopia on a rugged mountainside - according to some very peculiar ideals

If The Shoe Fits by Jaye Carroll
Twenty-five, single and just a little paranoid, Susan meets Sam. He’s everything she wants: good-looking, fun, intelligent and as mad about movies as she is. Out of the blue, happiness has kicked in. Or so she thinks. Then her boss goes on holiday and leaves her in charge, she suddenly has to find a new place to live, she answers a very odd advert in the Personal Columns and life doesn’t seem such a perfect fit any more.

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Celtic Calligraphy by Vivien Lunniss
Taking her inspiration from early manuscripts, the author illustrates how to create beautiful letter forms and how to apply rich, glowing decoration. The basic principles are covered in detail, with simple projects and over 35 step-by-step photographs to help develop confidence and skills. This invaluable book offers a rich source of design, with lettering, patterns and colours that will delight beginners and more experienced calligraphers.

Ballymurphy and the Irish War by Ciaran De Baroid
In Easter 1970 war came to a small Belfast community. Ballymurphy has since been the centre of the Irish conflict, playing a vital role in the developments of the past thirty years. This book examines the conflict and its impact on this area of West Belfast. It is the story of a war told first-hand, as the people of Ballymurphy reveal the truth beyond the media headlines. This new edition is completely revised and updated.

Bog Warriors by John Galvin
In Dunsheerin, where begrudgery is the most popular hobby, and where grievances get a better nursing than the sick, enemies are easily made. So when local bar-fly Jim Quilter sees John Burns face down in the river, he has a fair idea that he isn’t swimming a Garda investigation into the murder of a well-known local businessman comes up against a web of dark secrets and deep-rooted alliances. But with the arrival of the Dublin Superintendent and his team, the real stories begin to emerge. In Dunsheerin, there are old scores and bitter grudges to be settled, among the suspects, among the villagers, and among the Gardai themselves This book gives a very fine insight into life in rural Ireland and the use of local knowledge by the Gardai.

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Irish Nocturnes by Chris Arthur
This book contains 18 essays which range in subject matter from the Siege of Derry to Buddhist philosophy, from owls and kingfishers to fear of the dark, from sheepdogs to how we acquire language, from learning things by heart to coping with a sense of exile, form the origin of life to making linen. T he author writes: ‘These nocturnes are rooted in the same parts of Ireland as I am. They took shape where I was born and grew up. Inevitably, they derive much of their tone and colour from the places, people and events that constitute my background. To the extent that writing has a voice, they speak with the same accent whose inflection and intonation mark every word I utter. I hope this provides a sufficient commonality to justify gathering them together as a book. But though the Irish dimension does indeed provide a linking thread, under-running all the different themes with the same familial bloodline, the nocturnes are the outcome of many intermarriages, brief encounters and unexpected alliances, which often take them far away from their ancestral roots. Kinship does not rule out distance, difference, or diversity, as I hope the pages that follow will illustrate.’ This is a thoughtful and thought-provoking, immensely readable and rewarding collection of essays.

Lovers, Queens & Strangers: Strong Women in Celtic Myth by Anne Bernard Kearney
The women of Irish myth have an extraordinary resonance. Their vitality, strength and sensuality and refusal to compromise testify to their sovereignty - they never bow down to anyone, escaping all superior powers. The author here retells six of their stories for a contemporary audience with reflections on what they mean for women today. This book opens the door to a magical, yet deeply sensual and earthy universe, where women travel with ease between the realms of the everyday and those of magic an d wonder.

The Making of the Celtic Tiger: The Inside Story of Ireland’s Boom Economy by Ray Mac Sharry and Padraic White
In this book two individuals who were at the very heart of the dramatic changes which has made Ireland’s one of the world’s fastest growing economies, here tell the story of this economic miracle. They outline how in 1987, a minority government changed the political rule book by making dramatic cutbacks in spending, thereby winning the approval of the public, the markets and business. The authors explain how the remarkable social partnership between government, unions and business, which underpinned the transformation, was achieved. They tell how the Emerald Isle on the edge of Europe became a European centre for the world’s leading companies, as foreign investment became a powerful driving force behind the country’s remarkable economic renaissance. And they reveal how Ireland won billion s in European Union funding at a crucial point in its economic take-off. In a remarkable case study, this book also recounts how Ireland created a leading International Financial Services Centre as a result of a unique public and private-sector collaboration. This book will both inform and entertain all those who have wondered about Ireland’s economic good fortune of recent times.

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No Can Do by Julie O’Callaghan
This new collection of poetry ranges in tone from the poignant to the caustic and in subject matter from the sublime to the hilarious. Its riotous middle is flanked by two contrasting sections, which brings a fresh subtlety to her celebrated use of monologues as she ventriloquises contemporary concerns through gently satiric and slyly erotic poems set in the court of Heian Japan. The book ends with an affecting sequence of elegiac poems, shocking in its starkness, which will add to her reputation as a highly original and unpredictable poet.

Alice Falling by William Wall
Alice is falling and all around her friends and lovers are tumbling towards disaster. Married to the rich and dangerous Paddy Lynch, she is no stranger to trouble. All through her life she has had to fight to survive. But s he is not prepared to be a victim anymore. In this hypnotic and unsettling tale of emotional damage and revenge, the author depicts the lives of a group of friends and the strategies they adopt to survive in a brash and brutal new Ireland. Wealth and power appear to blind them, but it is wealth gained at an intolerable price and power that is little more than the ability to inflict pain. The world of this novel is full of glittering lies and sordid truths, dangerous loves and distant friendships.

Trimble by Henry McDonald
David Trimble’s ascent to the post of First Minister of the new Northern Ireland Assembly has been a remarkable political journey from the hardline fringes of Unionism to the moderate centre-ground. Whatever the future o f the first devolved government in Belfast for a quarter of a century, Trimble’s career, from his involvement in the early seventies with Bill Craig’s ultra-right-wing Vanguard to leadership of a government that includes a former IRA chief of staff, Martin McGuinness, as one of his fellow ministers, is a unique story of personal and political transformation. The author tells the story from Trimble’s childhood in Bangor, County Dow n, a town ‘as British as Finchley’, through his years studying and teaching law at Queen’s University, Belfast. He traces Trimble’s political career from his early involvement with extreme Unionism, and his role as advisor to loyalist paramilitary leaders, to his rise in the Unionist Party and his maturing into a politician seeking reconciliation with Irish nationalists and republicans. The author has been granted many exclusive interviews with David Trimble over the years. He describes his relationships with world leaders, including his close friendship with Tony Blair and his dealings with Bill Clinton. In order to understand the man, the author examines his two marriages and his life outside Ulster politics. Lucid and revealing, this book also describes the final tortuous negotiations towards the devolution of power from London to Belfast on 1 December 1999. As Northern Ireland’s new government - on temporary suspension at the moment - stands on a knife-edge between political failure or survival, this is a vital and important book for all who seek to understand Ireland’s trouble d past and its hopes for the future.

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The Flowing Tide: More Irish Set Dancing by Pat Murphy
This book provides a selection of set dances, including some danced in the United States and Canada. It includes dances that have been revived since the publication of Toss the Feathers, among them old traditional sets and some sets more associated with competition set dancing, such as the ‘Ballyroan Half Set,’ the ‘Drumgarriff Half Set’, and the ‘Kildownet Half Set’. There are also two waltz sets and two sets from Canada, one from Cape Breton and the other from Prince Edward Island. The sets are laid out in conventional set terminology and can be easily followed by teachers, pupils and anyone who has an acquaintance with the art of set dancing.

Contemporary Irish Monologues: 60 Audition Speeches for Men and Women edited by Jim Culleton and Clodagh O’Donoghue
A collection of 60 diverse audition speeches for men and women selected from the finest Irish plays of the last thirty years. Contemporary classics such as Brian Friel’s ‘Faith Healer’, Tom Murphy’s ‘Bailegangaire’, Sebastian Barry’s ‘The Steward of Christendom’, John B. Keane’s ‘Big Maggie’, Frank McGuinness’ ‘Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme’, and Jennifer Johnston’s ‘Desert Lullaby’ are complemented by more recent, ground-breaking plays such as Conor McPherson’s ‘The Weir’, Marina Carr’s ‘Portia Coughlan’, Martin McDonagh’s ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane’, and Marie Jones’ ‘A Night in November’. These sixty speeches explore a broad diversity of themes, moods and characters - from the serious to the comic al, the real to the surreal. A short introductory note also firmly sets into place contexts and backgrounds to each piece. Introduced by famed Irish theatre director Joe Dowling, this book is an indispensable resource for actors, students, directors and teachers.

Death of a Soldier by Rita Restorick
Twenty-three year-old Stephen Restorick was killed by a sniper’s bullet o n 12 February 1997 as he manned a checkpoint in south Armagh. This book, published to mark the third anniversary of his death, is the moving testimony of his remarkable mother, Rita. Written in a direct, spare style with no hint of self-pity, the book nevertheless captures and conveys wit h almost unbearable poignancy the intense grief which became for Rita a powerful impetus to work for peace in Northern Ireland. Her compassion and feeling for the people of the north as they inch their way towards peace, and her personal understanding of how immensely difficult the oft-demanded ‘compromises’ can be - the prospect of an early release under the Good Friday Agreement for the man convicted of her son’s murder is torturing her - make this extraordinary book as compelling as it is courageous.

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Jail Journal by John Mitchel
In 1847, John Mitchel broke with his moderate colleagues on The Nation to found The United Irishman. His articles for this were so outspoken that he was tried on charges of sedition in 1848 and sentenced to transportation. He was taken first to the prison hulks of Bermuda, then to the Cape of Good Hope, finally to Tasmania. From there he escaped, arriving in New York a t the end of 1853. This account of his experiences first appeared in the New York newspaper, The Citizen, and exerted a powerful influence on later nationalists. This facsimile edition makes available an important book.

Celtic Sacred Landscapes by Nigel Pennick
In this engrossing study, the author shows the reader the holy sites of Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe through Celtic eyes, reinvesting each feature of the landscape with its spiritual, symbolic and mythological importance. From the original Celtic site of the castle at Tintagel, passing through the sacred forest of Broceiliade in Brittany and on to the monastery of Scelig Mhiuchil off the coast of Ireland, the author takes the reader on an exhilarating spiritual and historical tour of the Celtic holy places of Europe. He delves into the mystery and lore behind the power of sacred trees and stones; healing springs and wells; holy mountains and islands; sacred caves; sanctified earthworks and cities; paths; abodes of demons and supernatural beings; hidden temples; and the holy places of the Celtic Saints. Through these themes, supported by a wide-ranging gazetteer of sites, the author reveals the continuing importance of the relationship between Celtic traditions and the landscape.

Castles in Ireland: Feudal Power in the Gaelic World by Tom McNeill
The castles of Ireland are an essential part of the study of medieval Europe. This book tells the story of the nature and development of lords hip and power in medieval Ireland. Ireland formed the setting to the interplay of the differing roles of competing lordships: English and Irish; feudal and European and Gaelic; royal and baronial. The author argues that the design of the castles contests the traditional view of Ireland as a land torn by war and divided culturally between the English and the Irish.

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Something for the Weekend by Pauline McGlynn
Leo Street is fed up. It’s her thirtieth birthday and it’s raining again. Her home town of Dublin is no ‘New Barcelona’; her job as a private investigator brings nothing but heartache and unpaid bills; and Barry, her permanently resting actor boyfriend, treats her house like a free hotel - without giving her the benefits of room service. So she’s rather relieve d when a loathsome client sends her away to County Kildare to spy on his supposedly cheating wife. The one catch is she has to masquerade as a member of a cookery course and the only piece of culinary equipment Leo c an handle is a tin opener. As she strips away layers of marital infidelity - not to mention several other scandalous secrets - Leo battles with bread-making and brulee. But where will it all end - in triumph or tragedy? This novel introduces the reader to an irresistible heroine and marks the debut of a talented comic writer.

For the Love of Mary Kate by Hazel McIntyre
This novel is a compelling saga of love and courage spanning three generations. Born illegitimate in a convent in 1920s rural Ireland, her mother banished to New York to save the family name, little Mary Kate Quinn’s future seems bleak. To keep a hastily made promise to her daughter, Sara Quinn rescues her granddaughter from the fate of the orphanage. Driven to seek refuge in the rambling old house of her former employer, Sara beg ins a new life. With patience and love, Sara and Mary Kate transform the lives of its inhabitants. Meanwhile Maura Quinn has become a nanny in New York. She falls in love with Andrew and rather than reveal the past she returns home to be reunited with her daughter. Back in Ireland Maura is torn between her child and the man she left behind in New York.

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Lament in the Wind by Hazel McIntyre
With a keen ear for the rolling echoes of history, the author brings to life a vivid and unforgettable gallery of colourful characters. When career women Mary Thompson is entrusted with the diaries of Cassie O’Connor, she is driven to tell her story. Cassie’s story begins with her early childhood in an Ireland of famine, eviction and emigration. Following her father’s death, Cassie and her mother are forced to seek shelter in the workhouse rife with fever and death. Marcie Briggs, daughter of the local clergyman, rescues them. They begin a new life at the rectory where Cassie acts as unpaid servant to ‘The Madam’ who despises her. Feeling rejected by a mother who hardly seems to notice her existence, she leans more and more on Marcia for the affection she craves. Out of a time of turmoil, confusion and exile on a famine ship to Canada emerges a love story told with intense and sympathetic realism.

Runts of the Litter by Austen Breaffa
This is a funny and sad novel, a perceptive book, comical and sharp, memorable and captivating, about the reality that is created when reality is avoided. It is the story of Ernest and Jon, and aspiring poet and an aspiring actor, who are two dissatisfied, penniless youths thrown out of their living accommodation with only 24 hours notice. Instead of keeping their refunded deposit for a new apartment, they use the money to get drunk and set about trying to stay drunk to escape reality. Their reality is t hat they have had no success in their chosen artistic endeavours and feel entirely displaced. They wander in their drunkenness and dissatisfaction through the dark and hostile capital city street’s night and try and formulate a plan to address their homelessness which, when it eventually comes to them, they try to fulfil in one desperate and deranged long week end.

Inchicore, Kilmainham and District by Seosamh O Broin
This is a local history that concerns an area where, over the centuries, many of the varied threads of Ireland’s story have come together. Inchicore and Kilmainham have contributed significantly to the political, religious, military and industrial history of the City of Dublin

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An Eagle’s View of Irish Lighthouses by John Eagle
This book brings together photographs of fifty Irish lighthouses, together with the author’s comments about each one. It also includes description, where they are located and how to find them. It is not meant to be a definitive guide to every Irish lighthouse, but a taster to whet the appetite of those who might not have seen the beauty of these structures before. This book will also be appreciated by anyone with an interest in lighthouses.

Ordinary Decent Criminal by Gretta Curran Browne
Michael Lynch, suave, sardonic and sexy, strides the Dublin streets as if he owns them - the king of the Irish underworld. He dreams up audacious robberies and carries them out with a panache that endears him to the common man. He has four passions in life: motorcycles, crime, his marriage to a wife he adores and his love affair with her sister. He challenges authority at every turn. His audacity culminates in the ultimate art theft from Dublin’s most prestigious gallery, where he outwits the police, interpol and even the IRA. Detective Sergeant Noel Quigley is a cop with a mission. Determined that Lynch must be caught and stopped, he believes that only he can do it. But when Quigley finally runs his target to ground and corners him in the act of committing a major crime, Michael Lynch just keeps on smiling.

The Last Corporation Man by Vincent Flood
This is an account of the other side of life as witnessed by the much maligned ‘Corporation May’. To try and show what life was like for the less fortunate in Irish society, in some way, a sort of social history of the city of Dublin. The interaction between Inspector, Foreman, Workers and Tenants, the dreadful living and working conditions experienced and stoically accepted. The eccentric characters, who by their deeds and actions helped to make life at least bearable and in some small way improved the quality of life for the unfortunate tenants. Mostly, it is about people making the most of what life had dealt them, in some bizarre and poignant situation.

The Keepers of the Truth by Michael Collins
The last of a manufacturing dynasty in a dying industrial town, Bill live s alone in the family mansion and works for the Truth, the moribund local paper. He yearns to write long philosophical think pieces about the American dream gone sour, not the flaccid write-ups of homebake contests and high-school sports demanded by the Truth. Then old man Lawton goes missing, and suspicion fixes on his son Ronny, bad boy of the area. Paradoxically, the spectre of violent death breathes new life into the town, with network attention and national scoops for the Truth. For Bill, a deeper and more disturbing involvement with the Lawtons themselves ensues. The Lawton murder and the obsessions it awakes in the town come to symbolise the mood of a nation on the edge.

Fast Forward by Clare Dowling
This is a racy story of three women who want to have it all. Cathy Conroy is a failed actress; Jean Ormsby, a struggling theatrical agent; Tess Fisher, a superbly successful Cabinet Minister’s wife. The film is the brainchild of Minister for Arts, Peter Fisher, Tess’s husband, a desperate publicity stunt to save the government’s majority in a crucial by-election. With Hollywood legend Jack Thornton as director and fifty million America n dollars as backing, the huge production descends on rural Kilkenny. Now life favours the three women with a second chance.

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