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Read Ireland Book Reviews, August 2001
Yeats Is Dead:
A Novel edited by Joseph O’Connor
This novel is a collaborative effort by fifteen Irish writers in aid of
Amnesty International. The first chapter is by Roddy Doyle and the last
by Frank McCourt. In between, thirteen of the very best writers in Ireland
spin a brilliantly funny tale of murder, mayhem, and missing manuscripts
in present-day Dublin. The thirteen writers are: Conor McPherson, Gene
Kerrigan, Gina Moxley, Marian Keyes, Anthony Cronin, Owen O’Neill, Hugh
Hamilton, Joseph O’Connor, Tom Humphries, Pauline McLynn, Charlie O’Neill,
Donal O’Kelly and Gerard Stembridge.
[ top ]
The Element of Fire by Brendan Graham
From the author of the acclaimed ‘The Whitest Flower’ comes the story of
an unforgettable heroine, Ellen Rua O’Malley. Widowed by Ireland’s Great
Famine, she has fled her native land for Boston. With her are her two surviving
children, Patrick and Mary, and the ‘silent girl’ rescued from the hordes
of the dispossessed. Boston in the 1850s is the hub of the universe: gateway
to America’s temples of commerce and learning; liberal, sophisticated -
the very best place in all of the New World for a woman to be. There, awaiting
her, are the stability of a new life and Lavelle, the man who loves her.
But Ellen, desperate to shake off the Old World, is driven by her own demons
to put everything at risk. And Boston, on the brink of Civil War, seems
only to mirror her own conflict, to sound the knell of her own battle for
survival. A powerful and compelling tale of lives and loves dislocated,
this novel captures emotions as times as life and love.
[ top ]
The Guards by Ken Bruen
Jack Taylor is a disgraced ex-cop in Galway. Mourning the death of his father,
he is slowly drinking himself into oblivion. He retains, however, his ability
to ‘find things’ and is asked to investigate a teenage suicide. This leads
him into a dangerous confrontation. A darker conspiracy slowly unfolds.
Aided by a punk girl, he fumbles towards a lethal solution. The narrative
is fuelled by black humour, stark violence and moments of radiance. The
Guards remain as a chorus in the background, never altogether past, infringing
on Jack Taylor at the least expected moment. The intimate, bustling city
of Galway, crashing into prosperity, illuminates the story at every turn.
[ top ]
Talking to God
by John F. McDonald
Talking to God is a dark, powerful and violent story of a man who sees the
enemy in everyone but himself. In this novel the author challenges the reader
to enter the world of Francis Page and take a look at life through the eyes
of a disturbed mind, as he explores the nature of loyalty, love and our
perception of relationships, belief and self.
[ top ]
A Life of Her Own by Dee Cunningham
Beautiful, successful Cathy Carmody has it all: great friends, a challenging
job and a full and happy life. But her confident faE7ade hides a past that
is very different and pain that she has never revealed, even to her best
friends. When a series of events trigger memories of her troubled past,
Cathy turns to a new friend, Stephen Brown, for advice and support. Stephen
is attractive, charming and sympathetic - and a Catholic priest. Is the
help and friendship he offers her purely platonic? They Cathy falls for
Stephen’s younger brother, Jack, and things get complicated. Stephen comes
to realise what he is losing, but Jack always gets what he wants. Cathy
has to decided between the two very different brothers, but first she has
to work out what she really wants from life, and how to get it.
[ top ]
Pack Up Your Troubles
by Anne Bennett
When eighteen-year-old Maeve Brannigan arrives in Birmingham in 1930, having
left her family’s small farm in County Donegal, she can’t believe her luck
when she meets and falls in love with the handsome Brendan Hogan. But as
they settle into married life it soon becomes clear that Brendan is not
the man she thought he was, and when Maeve fall pregnant with their first
child, she is exposed to a brutal and violent attack which is to set the
pattern for coming years. After one horrific spate of abuse, Maeve takes
her children, Kevin and Grace, and flees to the farm in Donegal she was
once so eager to escape. But it’s not long before the close-knit Catholic
community make it very clear that Maeve will never be accepted back into
their society. Maeve is forced to return to the horrors of her marital home,
but how much longer can she endure the torments of a man she has grown to
hate?
[ top ]
Desire Lines by Annie McCartney
Clare Murphy has come home to a terrace house in west Belfast to lick her
wounds. Her glamorous acting career in London is faltering, and her long-term
lover Tim has ditched her for a younger actress with more useful theatrical
connections. With time on her hands - acting jobs are hard to come by even
in newly vibrant Belfast - she agrees to help a local drama group led by
Lorcan O’Carroll. Father Lorcan O’Carroll, that is. The immediate attraction
she feels to the priest is not only strongly sexual but, it appears, disturbingly
mutual. This compelling first novel from the playwright heralds the debut
of an exciting new voice in Irish fiction.
[ top ]
Cutting the Night
in Two: Short Stories by Irish Women Writers edited by Evelyn Conlon and
Hans-Christian Oeser
This is a stunning collection of 34 short stories by Irish women writers
both past and present. The first anthology of its kind for decades, it serves
to showcase work that is often overlooked in the literary ledger, despite
the widely acknowledged gift that Irish women writers have shown for the
short story in the twentieth century. This collection re-introduces well
known voices and introduces the less well-known. Spanning almost the entire
century, and set in such diverse locations as Dublin, New York, Kerry, and
Greece, these stories reveal a collective voice both imaginative and tough,
together with an eclectic vision that shrewdly exposes what lies just below
the surface - of people’s lives, and the worlds they inhabit.
[ top ]
Single Obsession by Des Ekin
A top politician stands accused of multiple murder. A psychiatrist is threatened
and the life of her small son is in danger. A well-known investigative journalist
is forced to put his career on the line and his future in doubt. And all
three situations are linked in a complex and mysterious way. From a twisting
plot, with many surprises, an incredible story emerges, involving conspiracy
at the highest level, blackmail, impersonation, strong-arm tactics and sheer
terror.
[ top ]
Seducing Adam
by Tara Manning
Jenny’s social life consists of lonely days and nights spent munching chocolates
and dishing out advice to the guests on Jerry Springer and Oprah. Now her
husband Adam is cheating on her and she doesn’t want to get mad or even.
She wants him back! So, agony queen Jenny decides to ignore her own advice,
hit the gum, take charge of her life and seduce her man
[ top ]
Anatomy School by Bernard Mac Laverty
This novel is the story of the growing up of Martin Brennan: a troubled
boy in troubled times, a boy who knows all the questions but none of the
answers. This is Belfast in the late sixties. Before he can become an adult,
Martin must unravel the sacred and contradictory mysteries of religion,
science and sex; he must learn the value of friendship, but most of all
he must pass his exams - at any cost. A book that celebrates the desire
to speak and the need to say nothing, this novel moves from the enforced
silence of Martin’s Catholic school retreat, through the hilarious tea-and-biscuits
repartee of his eccentric elders to the awkward wit and loose profanity
of his two friends - the charismatic Kavanagh and the subversive Blaise
Foley. An absorbing, tense and often very funny novel which takes Martin
from the initiations of youth to the devoutly wished consummation of the
flesh, this novel is a remarkable re-creation of the high anxieties and
deep joys of learning to find a place in the world.
[ top ]
My Time in Space
by Tim Robinson
In this dazzling new series of essays, the author examines aspects of his
own ‘time in space’, moving from his childhood in Yorkshire to a deadly
moment on a Malayan airstrip, a pilgrimage to the midnight sun, adventures
in the art-worlds of Istanbul, Vienna and London, and finally to the spaces
of the West of Ireland which he has interpreted with incomparable attention
and fidelity over the past three decades. These essays explore problems
in mathematics and mapping, the human implications of the arc of a missile,
the feelings of a sceptic upon approaching divine ground in the company
of a mystic, and other encounters of the empirical with the numinous: Robinson
has an uncanny capacity to write convincingly about both. The sequence ends
with an angry outburst against the ongoing wrecking of the Irish countryside
and a moving hymn to the delights of his own house and garden at the edge
of the sea in Connemara. This book is the latest instalment in a literary
corpus of singular integrity and endless fascination.
[ top ]
Accidental Diplomat: My Years in the Irish Foreign Service, 1987-1995 by Eamon Delaney
Eamon Delaney started in the Department of Foreign Affairs at the tender
age of twenty-four. It was 1987, the eve of Charles Haughey’s triumphant
return to power. And tense times for the diplomats of Iveagh House. From
lonely nights at the Soviet Desk to glamorous soirees during Ireland’s presidency
of the emerging European Union, Delaney kept his ear to the ground - a useful
skill when wedged precariously between Iran, Iraq and Israel at the UN General
Assembly. And more useful still when, at the Irish Consulate, he travelled
the strange world of Irish America, doing battle with radical nationalists
and having to indulge in a painful amount of ceili dancing. And then there
was Northern Ireland, and the Peace Process of 1993-1995, where no amount
of dining, spying and manipulation was spared in the pursuit of the ultimate
goal - the greater good of officialdom! Hilarious and at times deadly serious,
this book offer a wry and irreverent view of the backstage dealings at Ireland’s
Department of Foreign Affairs.
[ top ]
Irish Church Records
edited by James Ryan
This book details the records of each of the 8 major Irish denominations
and their value for family history, and for church and local history. The
locations of the records of each church, and guidelines for the access are
also provided.
[ top ]
Joey Dunlop: His Authorised Biography by Mac McDiarmid
When Joey Dunlop, undisputed master of the Isle of Man TT, was killed in
July 2000, he was awarded what amounted to an Irish state funeral. The service,
attended by cabinet ministers and no fewer than 50,000 well-wishers, was
broadcast live on national television. For the mourning motorcycle road
race fans the modest Ulsterman was akin to royalty. This authorised commemorative
biography tells the full story of the ‘King of the Roads’. The text, full
of first hand anecdotes from family, friends and other racers, is supported
by race statistics and a wealth of photographs, many of them published here
for the first time.
[ top ]
Like Joy in Season,
Like Sorrow by Mary Dorcey
With this new volume, Mary Dorcey has become a necessary poetic voice. We
have always looked to her to give witness to love among women but increasingly,
she is needed for her unflinching cartography of old age; the shape-shifting
relationships between ageing parents, voyaging towards decline and death,
and the children who care for them. The poetry is, above all, a celebration
of the power of memory in the face of its destruction.
[ top ]
Asylum Road by Mary O’Malley
Mary O’Malley’s fourth collection takes as its focal point the Irish identity
and explores our response to recent immigration in the light of our own
history. She once again brings a poignant, sharp clarity to the Connemara
of her childhood, sweeps out towards California and Mexico and always returns
to the particular details of her home place; explored and re-imagined in
the light of a quest that is continuous, exacting and rooted in exigent
lives.
[ top ]
Critical Ireland:
New Essays in Literature and Culture edited by Aaron Kelly and Alan Gillis
This absorbing collection of essays offer a panoptic view of recent Irish
literary and cultural criticism. Written by young and emergent scholars,
the book is both a window into the contemporary state of Irish studies,
and a blueprint for its future. The contributors have combined a scholarly
rigour and in-depth analysis with a refreshingly accessible style and wit.
Irish writers past and present, major and minor, are given important new
readings, whilst innovative perspectives on Irish culture are opened up
in essays comparing Belfast to Barcelona, or examining a theatrical ventures
advertising campaign. This Irish literary and cultural history is examined
close-up, but it is also placed within an invigorating and revelatory range
of broader contexts. The books’ critical approached cover formalist, feminist,
Marxist, postcolonial, and post-modern areas of concern; but strikingly,
many essays self-consciously bring two or more such perspectives to bear
upon one another, and the overall tenor of the book stems from its fusion
of theoretical verve and empirical accuracy. Thus the confluence and conflict
of poetics and historiography, socialism and nationalism, creativity and
capital, are examined across multiple genres from the eighteenth century
to the end of the twentieth.
[ top ]
The Complete Guide to Irish Dance by Frank Whelan
Irish dancing has never been more popular. In recent years, the success
of Riverdance and Lord of the Dance has enthralled audiences world-wide.
This book offers a comprehensive history on all aspect of Irish dance, from
its ancient origins right up to the present day. The book gives detailed
information about Irish dancing from the first day a dancer enrols at a
dance school, right through the different levels of competition up to the
World Championship. Special attention is paid to music, costume, embroidery
and shoes. With clear and simple instruction and diagrams from 30 popular
Irish dances, as well as step-by-step photos demonstrating arm and body
positions for reels, jigs and hornpipes, this book is of great benefit to
anyone with an interest in or a love of Irish dance.
[ top ]
The Book of Irish
Legends by Iain Zaczek with illustrations by Emma Garner
This book celebrates the richness of Irish storytelling, presenting both
evocative folk tales and classic legends from the epic story cycles. These
tales of supernatural love, spiritual voyage, and heroism are accompanied
by specially commissioned paintings and an appendix of principal character
and places. Full colour throughout.
[ top ] Father & I:
A Memoir by Carlo Gebler
Carlo Gebler’s childhood was one of prohibitions: no sweets, no comics,
no toys, no friends to the house to play, no gabbing at meal times; a childhood
dominated by his father Ernest Gebler’s belief in discipline and Joseph
Stalin. Ernest Gebler was a writer whose novel The Plymouth Adventure was
made into a film starring Spencer Tracy. But when Carlo Gebler’s mother
- Edna O’Brien - eclipsed her husband’s literary success, Ernest Gebler
convinced himself that he was the writer of her books, a strain their relationship
was unable to take. When his parents divorced, Carlo Gebler initially resisted
his mother’s attempts to make him stay in touch with his father. His father
did likewise, even returning his Christmas cards. But when Carlo Gebler
started writing, he decided to make the effort to renew contact. As his
short stories and novels were published, he sent them to his father for
approval. His father never responded. In 1991, Carlo Gebler received a call
from his cousin. His father had had a fall. There was no chance of recovery.
He would have to go into a home. As he prepared to sell his father’s house
to pay for this, he discovered Ernest Gebler’s diaries dating back to the
1940s, his papers, documents, court affidavits and photographs. Carlo Gebler
began to explore them, began to learn about his father’s life, and finally
understand his character, his behaviour, his actions. He felt the very last
thing he expected to feel for the man who had never, he believed, shown
him any love - he felt hugely, heart-achingly, sorry for him. This book
is a powerful and personal testimony to understanding; a moving, emotional
narrative from one of Ireland’s most highly acclaimed writers. This was
our book of the Month for September 2000..
[ top ]
Landscapes of
Ireland by Michael Diggin
This book contains a brand new collection of photographs from one of Ireland’s
most renowned photographers. Based in Tralee, Co. Kerry, Michael Diggin
has an international reputation as a photographer of the Irish countryside
and of its landscapes. This book concentrates on the natural beauties of
Ireland rather than on the built environment. Page after page brings a succession
of beautiful landscapes: of rolling countryside, steep cliffs, off-shore
islands, the lush countryside of the Golden Vale and of the wonderful mountain
ranges around the coast. The book covers the entire island of Ireland: there
are photographs from every one of the 32 counties - all designed and laid
out to illustrate the variety, splendour and beauty of the Irish landscape.
[ top ]
Heritage of Ireland
by Peter Zoller
This book of photographs places the emphasis on the man-made Irish environment.
It ranges from city views, showing the bustle of the city streets and the
elegance of Georgian architecture, to a countryside littered with town houses,
castles, fairy-rings, archaeological sites, battlefields and all the other
marks left by human hand. Ireland has been inhabited for about 7000 years
and this magnificent picture book captures the full surviving cross-section
of human achievement in this small island.
[ top ]
Dingle in Pictures
by Steve MacDonagh
The Dingle Peninsula was described in National Geographic Traveller as ‘the
most beautiful place on earth’, and in David Lean’s film ‘Ryan’s Daughter’
it was perhaps the scenery of this south-western tip of Europe that impressed
viewers the most. Bounded on three sides by the sea, it enjoys a slightly
milder climate than its neighbouring mainland, causing many plants to flourish
exceptionally well. The peninsula combines in its landscape the rugged coastal
scenery of rocky outcrops and cliffs with the soft shapes of hills and mountains,
skirted by green lowlands and long stretches of sandy beaches.
[ top ]
Munster’s Mountains:
30 Walking, Scrambling and Climbing Routes by Denis Lynch
The mountains of Munster stretch from Kerry to Waterford, through Limerick,
Cork and Tipperary. For this guidebook, Denis Lynch explored gullies and
ridges with a technical / semi-technical element, a level above hillwalking
involving scrambling / rockclimbing. While including well-known routes,
he largely describes alternatives, offering a sense of exploration and adventure.
Supported by maps and photographs, this guidebook offers a range of options
for a challenging day on the hills.
[ top ]
Companion Guide to Ireland by Brendan Lehane
Ireland confronts the seas about her with a dramatic diversity; the foam-sprayed
cliffs of Clare, the bony, probing fingers of Kerry, the seaward tumble
of the Mourne and Wicklow mountains, scatters of islands, deep fjords, the
smothering dunes of Wexford, and thousands of miles of white or golden sands.
Inner Ireland’s appeal is quite as real: the dark pastel colours of the
bog, haughty houses in pampered demenses, long thin villages with their
spired churches, Georgian Dublin, solitary glories like the Rock of Cashel,
or the ruins of the seven churches in the wild green mountain gash of Glendalough.
The author vividly illuminates all these.
[ top ]
Discover Galway
by Paul Walsh
Galway is a vibrant, exuberant city with a tangible charm and a fascinating
history. Founded in the thirteenth century by the Anglo-Normans, it has
witnessed rebellions, sieges, religious and sectarian conflicts, political
intrigue and social upheaval. Today it is a thriving tourist centre, attracting
visitors from all over the world. This book tells is rich story.
[ top ]
Discover Waterford
by Eamonn McEneanry
Waterford is Ireland’s oldest city, founded by Viking raiders in AD914.
It has played a pivotal role in the economic, political and cultural life
of the country, and its motto ‘Urbs Intacta’ (the untaken city) bears witness
to the many power struggles and conflicts in which it has been embroiled
through the centuries. Today, Waterford is a household name internationally
through the fame of its hand-cut crystal. It is a lively, often underestimated
city, which always manages to surprise the visitor.
[ top ]
Glorious Gardens
of Ireland by Melanie Eclare
The culmination of a two-year project, this book is a celebration of the
beauty and character of Irish gardens as well as about the people who create
and maintain them. The award winning author has produced a sumptuous book.
Every type of garden is here within, from the sublime to the innovative.
All are caught by Eclare’s keen eye and lyrical pen and described with such
knowledgeable appreciation and care that it is easy to imagine that one
is walking around the gardens with her.
[ top ]
Ireland: A Taveller’s
Handbook by James Brindley
This book is a highly-useful reference for anyone who wants to discover
more about the country’s cultural attractions and geographical and natural
make-up. Ireland’s physical landscape is introduced in the first chapter,
while chapter two is a detailed guide to selected visitor attractions ranging
from gardens and historic houses to museums and heritage centres, and is
conveniently organised by county and accompanied by road directions. The
subsequent chapters, which describe the island’s animals, birds, trees,
shrubs and wild flowers, are comprehensive and attractively illustrated.
[ top ]
The Sheela-na-Gigs
of Ireland and Britain by Joanne McMahon and Jack Roberts
Sheela-na-Gigs are carvings of female images depicted as naked and posing
in a manner which accentuates the most powerfully evocative symbol of the
vulva. They were erected on many churches of the medieval period and were
almost invariably placed in a very prominent position such as over the main
entrance door or a window. In Ireland, where the practice continued into
the later middle ages, they are found on castles and some other important
structures. The sheela-na-gigs are primarily sacred religious symbols but
some historians have been reluctant to take them seriously. They are generally
referred to as protective talismans or good luck symbols, and more recently
the suggestion that they were put on churches as ‘warnings against sin and
lust’ has found favour. But tradition does not support this view and all
references to them indicate that they were highly regarded, revered images
that evidently held an exalted position within the religious iconography
of the earlier church. This book has been produced in the hope that we may
once again be able to look at, accept and fully appreciated sheela-na-gigs
and thereby begin to feel respect for these once highly-esteemed aspects
of Celtic heritage.
[ top ]
Signposts to Kerry
by Nora Relihan
Kerry is famed for its natural beauty, for its ancient history and for its
cultural riches. In this book the author invites the reader to accompany
her on her personal journey through Kerry, both ancient and contemporary.
For the author, Kerry is a magic lake - Caragh lake, the lake of her childhood.
Kerry is also Puck Fair in Killorglin and the sweeping expanse of Rossbiegh
Strand. Some of the places she visits are well known; others, like the Ferry
Road between Tarbert and it’s port, will be new to readers. Castles, churches,
railways, poets, playwrights, resorts like Ballybunion and Ballyheigure,
that have managed to keep an old-world charm, activities like horse-racing,
greyhound-racing - all these are to be found in this charming book.
[ top ]
Connemara: Rambler’s
Guide by Paddy Dillon
This book covers some of the most
popular walking areas of Ireland, combining detailed route descriptions
with information on the local history and wildlife. Dominated by the Twelve
Bens and the Maum Turk mountain ranges and punctuated by Loughs and Atlantic
coastline, Connemara is simultaneously barren and breathtaking.
[ top ]
Tans, Terror and
Troubles: Kerry’s Real Fighting Story 1913-23 by T. Ryle Dwyer
What happened in Kerry during the
War of Independence and the Civil War has been the subject of controversy.
Although Eoin O’Duffy - the chief of staff of the Free State Army - said
that ‘Kerry’s entire record is the Black and Tan struggle consisted in
shooting an unfortunate soldier the day of the Truce’, some of the earliest
operations of the War of Independence took place there or involved Kerrymen.
The guns for the planned national uprising of 1916 were supposed to be
landed in Kerry, and Roger Casement was arrested there on Good Friday
1916. Moreover, although Eamon de Valera is usually described as the last
commandant to have surrendered during the Easter Rising and the only one
not to have been executed afterwards, a Kerryman, Thomas Ashe, also survived
as was, in fact, the last commandant to lay down his arms - and the only
one to achieve his military objective. Since ‘Kerry’s Fighting Story’
was published in 1947, no attempt has been made to cover the period of
the War of Independence and the subsequent Troubles in the county. Unfortunately,
that book was a rushed production and did not touch on the events of the
Civil War. This book gives the full story of events in Kerry during those
dark days.
[ top ]
Patriot Traitors:
Roger Casement, John Amery and the Real Meaning of Treason by Adrian Weale
In the twentieth century, only four
British citizens were convicted of the ancient crime of high treason and
only two of these - Roger Casement and John Amery - suffered what was,
until 1998, the only penalty allowed by law: execution. During the First
World War, Casement, a retired British consular official knighted by King
Edward VII for his humanitarian work in Africa and South America, attempted
to recruit a brigade of Irish prisoners of war to liberate Ireland after
the German victory on the Western front. In the Second World War, Amery,
the son of Churchill’s Secretary of State for India, tried to recruit
a legion of British soldiers into the Waffen-SS to fight against Bolshevism
on the Eastern Front. But even a cursory examination of their crimes reveals
both men to have been inept and ineffectual traitors, more of a burden
to their German sponsors than an asset. And the full weight of state power,
legitimate and illegitimate, was brought to bear to ensure that they were
hanged - even though the government knew that Casement was a confused,
naEFve idealist and a barely controlled compulsive pederast, and that
Amery was a psychopathic, sexually bizarre ‘moral imbecile’, incapable
of understanding the concepts of right and wrong. This book is the first
serious historical study to use the newly released MI5 personal files
on the two men, and the author illuminates one of the darkest corners
of recent history.
[ top ]
The Decline of
the Big House in Ireland by Terence Dooley
As late as the 1860s, Irish landlords
were still the wealthy elite of the country. During the relative affluence
of the post-Famine years, they continued to spend lavishly on the upkeep
of their estates. However, for a variety of reasons, by the late nineteenth
century, landlords had begun to find their disposable income greatly diminished.
With the advent of the Land League, they faced increasing pressure to
overturn the old ways of land management. The First World War proved an
important watershed, and had a huge psychological effect. Big-house social
life was thrown into disarray, and the fabric of a way of life began to
disintegrate. The revolutionary years 1919-1923 proved to be a further
catalyst in the decline of the big house, and the foundation of the Irish
Free State finally spelt the end for landlordism in Ireland. This book
in unique in its examination of the reasons for the economic, social and
political demise of the Irish landlord class. The author’s fascinating
investigation provides an insight into the lives, attitudes and outlooks
of the landed class, and examines the motivation behind the financial,
social and political decisions that an ever-changing world forced them
to make.
[ top ]
Fenian Diary:
Denis B. Cashman on board the Hougoumont 1867-1868 edited by C.W. Sullivan
III
In 1867, Fenianism in Ireland was at its peak. The English, desperate to
stem the tide of rebellion, banished convicted Fenians, along with thousands
of common criminals, to exile in Australia. ‘The Hougoumont’ was the last
official convict ship to Australia. In the Autumn of 1867, she sailed from
England. Among the Fenians on board was young Denis B. Cashman of Waterford,
convicted of felony treason and sentenced to seven years’ penal servitude.
On the long journey, Cashman kept a diary. Now, almost 150 years later,
this diary is available in all its rich, poignant detail.
[ top ]
The Way That I
Went by Robert Lloyd Praeger
First published in 1937, this book represented a lifetime’s exploration
of the countryside - walking hills and bogs, swimming through flooded caverns,
staying out all night on islands, sifting fossil bones and exploring cattle-tramped
tombs. This was a time when conservation was still in the future, farmers
welcomed rambling strangers and the countryside was largely tourist-free.
The book crackles with the excitement and perplexity aroused by our then
heritage of tombs and ring forts. This book offers an escape to the contemplation
of nature in ‘a time of rush and clatter, of fuss and noise and glare.’
Michael Viney, who has written an introduction to this edition, puts the
book in context and relates it to contemporary issues such as conservation,
ecology and farming practices.
[ top ]
The Shape of Irish
History by A.T.Q. Stewart
Distilling a lifetime’s distinguished scholarships, this meditation on the
nature of history challenges hitherto sacrosanct assumptions about Ireland’s
past. In an exploration of the essential structure of what is called ‘Irish
history’, Stewart looks at some unlighted areas and asks provocative questions
about popular misconceptions. Even where such misconceptions have been refuted
by academic research, he argues, the information has not been percolated
into the general domain because modern historians, writing mainly for one
another, have lost the wider audience. Criticising his own profession for
purporting to be scientific while largely ignoring the implications of,
for example, scientific archaeology, Stewart issues a characteristically
bold challenge to received views. The result is a landmark book - elegant,
stylish and effortlessly erudite - that lets some much-needed light and
air into the closed-shop of Irish history.
[ top ]
On the Verge of
Want compiled and edited by James Morrissey
This book is a unique insight into living conditions along Ireland’s western
seaboard in the late 19th century. In the later part of the 19th century,
most of the inhabitants of the West of Ireland eked out a meagre existence
in conditions proximate to pathetic. Homes were akin to hovels as parents
and offspring shared cramped accommodation with farm animals. Incomes were
paltry - ranging from less than 10 pounds per year to just under 50 pounds
for families. In many cases, receipts shaded expenditure by a few shillings.
This book is filled with original documents which record the often appalling
conditions which prevailed in the West of Ireland just over a century ago.
[ top ]
Anatomy of a Siege:
King John’s Castle, Limerick, 1642 by Kenneth Wiggins
King John’s Castle survives today as a impressively well-preserved Anglo-Norman
fortress in a commanding position along the eastern edge of the River Shannon.
In the early months of 1642, when the Munster army of the Irish rebellion
was admitted to Limerick, the Protestant and Anglo-Irish citizenry fled
to the king’s castle for protection, and were immediately besieged. To breach
the masonry the besiegers used miners to make tunnels for the placing of
timber props, ready for firing, underneath the foundations. The castle’s
defenders reacted by opening countermines to intercept the encroaching miners,
hoping to save the wall from ruin. The use of specialised ‘military mining’
techniques of this type was exceedingly rare in Ireland, and fundamental
to the exceptional events of this siege. This book brings together detailed
documentary sources and unique archaeological discoveries in an expert assessment
of this siege. It is the first book entirely devoted to King John’s Castle,
Limerick, and also the first on the siege of an Irish castle. The book incorporates
plans, photographs, and reproductions to provide a well-illustrated and
thorough analysis. It embraces the drama central to the story, while highlighting
methods and skills seldom witnessed in Irish siege warfare.
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Medieval Dublin
II edited by Sean Duffy
This book contains the proceedings of a second public symposium held by
the Friends of Medievel Dublin in 2000 and it would be difficult to overemphasise
their importance. Margaret Gowen’s paper on archaeological excavations at
the church of St. Michael le Pole reveals the earliest known evidence from
the Christian era for human activity in the environs of the later town.
Ann Lynch and Conleth Manning’s findings from their extensive excavations
at Dublin Castle in the mid-1980s are given a detailed airing here for the
first time. We now know a good deal more about the town’s earliest earthen
defences, the Norse and later Norman town walls and mural towers, thanks
to Clare Walsh’s excavations at Ross Road, also here discussed. The ups
and downs of the career of Geoffrey Morton, the colourful mayor of Dublin
in 1303-4, are meticulously pieced together by Philomena Connolly. Bernadette
Williams demonstrates the contribution to chronicle-writing in medieval
Dublin made by its Dominican friars. J.F. Lydon discusses the extent to
which Anglo-Norman Dublin adapted the town’s earlier Norse structures and
administration. The classification of the ethnic background of the latter
community is the pioneering project upon which Benedikt Hallgrimsson and
Barra O Donnabhain have embarked, and they present some of their remarkable
data in this volume; the latter also examines some intriguing evidence for
the practice of cranial surgery in medieval Dublin.
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