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Read Ireland Book Reviews, October 2001
Lost Lives by David
McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney and Chris Thornton
This book is a unique work filled
with passion and violence, with humanity and inhumanity. It is the story
of the Northern Ireland troubles told as never before; it is not concerned
with the political bickering but with the lives of those who have suffered
and the deaths which have resulted from more than three decades of conflict.
The authors are award-winning journalists. Over a seven-year period, they
examined every single death which was directly caused by the troubles.
This book traces the origins of the conflict from the firing of the first
shots, through the carnage of the 1970s and 1980s, to the republican and
loyalist ceasefires and beyond. All the casualties are here: the RUC officers,
the soldiers, the IRA volunteers, the loyalist paramilitary, the Catholic
mothers, the Protestant workers, the new-born baby. Each account is impossible
to ignore. As a reference book, it is indispensable; as a landscape of
history painted in fine detail, it is unique. Originally published in
1999, this new edition has been revised and updated.
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Rowdy Irish Tales
for Children by Eddie Lenihan
In this book, the well-loved author
and storyteller brings to life stories originally narrated to his son.
He preserves the freshness and immediacy of the spoken word and recreates
it on the page. ‘The Wake of Carraig Clancy’ is a tale from an area called
Corca Baiscinn, the bare west of Clare, and Boethius ‘Carraig’ Clancy,
the self-proclaimed Emperor. When the great leader chokes to death on
a fishbone, in a very undignified fashion, the wake that follows sees
heroes and warriors, singer and scribes gathered together. Such a wake
must surely be a gathering to remember. And another story tells the story
of Irish warfare, Fionn and the Fianna and the mysterious discovery of
the ‘brainballs’, When a vast net of brainballs is left at Tara as a warning
to the Fianna, it is time to retaliate. Fionn and his men set out to find
the maker of the brainball and bring him back to Tara to account for his
deeds. These tales are for children of all ages, from 9 to 90.
The Children’s
Book of Irish Folktales by Kevin Danaher
These tales are filled with the mystery
and adventures of a land of lonely country roads and isolated farms, humble
cottages and lordly castles, rolling fields and tractless bogs. They tell
of giants and ghosts, of strange happenings and wondrous deeds, of fairies
and witches and of fools and kings. Above all in these stories, there
is a sense of the full wonder of a world where the marvellous and the
unexpected can always happen, and nothing is every quite what it seems.
It is a vision of a world forever young, rich with the promise of perpetual
surprise - a world that a child knows full well, and adults forget all
to soon. There is sparkling humour in these tales, mocking folly with
a healing touch rather than a wounding sting. The special magic of the
Irish imagination shines forth in these fourteen authentic folktales,
drawn from the memory of Kevin Danaher, just as he heard them many years
ago.
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Oscar Wilde: A
Certain Genius by Barbara Belford
After William Shakespeare, Oscar
Wilde is the most quoted of writers. His epigrams turned conventions upside
down, his personality defined an era. One hundred years after his death,
the enduring fascination with his life remains as constant as ever: his
rise to prominence as an unparalleled playwright, his ego-driven fall
from grace, and the trial, played out in the full glare of the public’s
gaze. This book is a biography for a new generation of readers, portraying
Wilde as neither martyr, nor the self-destructive fop. The author brings
a new and fresh understanding of his life in all its complexity, genius
and humanity.
For the Cause of
Liberty: A Thousand Years of Ireland’s Heroes by Terry Golway
In this book, the author reconstructs
the entire thousand-year history of Irish nationalism, covering each benchmark
event in Ireland’s political evolution and presenting a vivid, epic tale
of both the famous and unsung patriots who changed the course of Ireland’s
history. In a chronicle of unprecedented breadth and authority, the book
tells the stories of Ireland’s heroes - including both men and women,
Catholic and Protestant - who enable the Irish to free themselves from
the yoke of colonial oppression. This engaging and admirable story of
how the Irish saved themselves is a peerless work of scholarship, and
it offers a fresh context for the ongoing discussion of Ireland’s political
future.
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The Encyclopedia
of Celtic Wisdom: A Shaman’s Sourcebook by Caitlin and John Matthews
The Celtic Tradition is a source of
inspiration to many seeking to discover ancestral spiritual heritage.
This superb sourcebook contains many new translations of seminal Celtic
texts, including stories, poems and prose pieces, some dating from as
far back as the seventeenth century. Key ingredients in this rich cauldron
of ancient lore include: Shamanic Memory; Druidic Divination and Prophecy;
Shapeshifting, Soul-Loss and Restoration; Magic and Healing. These ancient
tales are accompanied by detailed commentaries, comprehensive background
material and practical shamanic insights.
A.N. Other: 15
G.A.A. Short Stories by P.J. Cunningham
This book is a collection of short
stories which chronicle the life of rural Ireland through its relationship
to the Gaelic Athletic Association.
A History of Gaelic
Football by Jack Mahon
This book is a comprehensive survey
of Gaelic football from its beginnings to the present day, written by
one of Ireland’s premier sports journalists as well as a former champion
Gaelic footballer.
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Graiguenamanagh:
A Town and Its People by John Joyce
This book is a new, revised edition
of an historical and social account of Graiguenamanagh and Tinnahinch.
Contains b/w photos and maps throughout.
Dublin Libraries:
A Pictorial Record by Sean Lennon
This book is a lavish introduction
to Dublin’s most beautiful and interesting libraries, both private and
public, treated with a wealth of Sean Lennon’s fine illustrations, combined
with the artist’s own insights into the role played by libraries in Dublin’s
cultural life.
Gallows Speeches
from Eighteenth-Century Ireland by James Kelly
This book collects the ‘gallows speeches’
of over 100 offenders from late 17th and early 18th century Ireland. In
these, a series of fascinating and ill-documented life histories emerge
from an under-explored era in Irish history. They cover the full range
of ages, social class and crimes committed. This collection presents the
texts of those speeches that survive in the holdings of the main research
libraries in Ireland, Great Britain and the United States.
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Four Roads to
Dublin: A History of Rathmines, Ranelagh, and Leeson Street by Deirdre
Kelly
In ancient times, four roads led
into Dublin from the south-west, and what is now Rathmines and Ranelagh
was then a dangerous no-man’s land between the walled city and the Wicklow
Mountains. Fear of the ‘mountain enemy’ inhibited settlement until the
eighteenth century when the tiny villages of Rathmines, Cullenswood and
Ranelagh began to develop. Intense growth over the following century created
on of the most exciting and attractive areas in Dublin. Famous writers
and artists, including James Joyce, Sarah Purser, Jack Yeats, Katherine
Tynan, Frank O’Connor and Walter Osborne lived there. This book describes
the area - streets, buildings, people and its part in Irish history.
West Cork: A Sort
of History, Like 85 by Tony Brehony
Journalist, short-story writer and
broadcaster Tony Brehony looks back down through the swirling mists of
history, fable, myth and tale which all makes up the glorious heritage
of his native West Cork. In this book, which he himself hesitates to call
a history, he takes the reader back on a fascinating tour of the principal
towns and villages of West Cork recalling many forgotten incidents and
recording little known anecdotes about their origins, growth and development.
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The Grand Tour
of Kerry compiled by Penelope Durrell and Cornelius Kelly
This book is County Kerry, Ireland,
as seen through the eyes of over sixty visitors. For centuries, travellers
have been visiting County Kerry and writing about its legendary beauties.
This anthology brings together their impressions - from Giraldus Cambrensis
in the 12th century to Robert Mitchum nearly 800 years later. In between,
William Wordsworth, George Bernard Shaw, Kate O’Brien, Brendan Behan,
J.P. Donleavy, and numerous others take to the highways and byways of
the Kingdom. They regale the reader with their adventures, share their
impressions of the area, and provide a vivid picture of Kerry and its
inhabitants. Illustrated with historical photographs, etchings and portraits,
this book is both a journey through the county and a trip back in time.
The Irish in Australia:
1788 to the Present by Patrick O’Farrell
Originally published in 1986 in Australia,
this is a new and revised edition of a highly successful and influential
book. It was awarded both the New South Wales Premier’s Award for Non-Fiction
and the Ernest Scott Prize for Australian History. Since the first fleet
of 1788, the Irish have been going to Australia. They were the beginning
of a central, colourful and profoundly influential element in Australia’s
evolution into a nation different and separate from Britain. Commencing
with Irish convicts, feared and despised, following free Irish immigrants
and settlers into the often hostile texture of colonial life, they came
to see themselves as patriotic Australians, integrating into all levels
and facets of national life and character, many occupying the highest
positions in the land in government, law and commerce. This edition features
an important revised final chapter, which deals with the changing relationship
between Australians, new Irish and Irish Australians. In examining these
changes, the author considers the effect of major government initiatives
associated with the policies of multiculturalism introduced in Australia
from the 1970s.
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The Celtic Empire
by Peter Berresford Ellis
Subtitle: The First Millennium of
Celtic History, 1000 BC - AD 51. The Celts were the first European people
north of the Alps to emerge into recorded history. Their civilisation,
now 3000 years old and confined to the islands and peninsulas of north-west
Europe, may soon disappear for ever. In this book, a classic originally
published in 1990, the author examines the first millennium of Celtic
history up until the time of Christ. During this period, the Celts dominated
the ancient world - from Ireland in the west to Turkey in the east, from
Belgium in the north, south to Spain and Italy, where they sacked Rome
itself in 390 BC. This was the ‘Celtic Empire.’ But it was an empire without
an emperor or central government, made up instead of independent tribes
who moved across Europe, imposing their distinctive culture and social
values on other peoples. The Celts are surrounded by an aura of romance.
They have been described as a race of ancient mystics and the genius of
their artistic craftsmanship has been marvelled at for centuries - yet
they have been reviled for their barbarism and ferocity. In this lucid
and expert account, the author accords the Celts their proper place in
the history of ancient Europe.
Children of Belfast:
Reclaiming Their Place Among the Stones by Tom Quinn Kumpf
This book, with heartfelt prose and
powerful photos, reveals the soul of the children of Belfast coming of
age during the Troubles. Through his perceptive photography, the author
has got under the skin of Ireland and its people, north and south. He
combines an awareness of the issues in Northern Ireland with an understanding
of their effect on its children.
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Captain Fantastic:
Roy Keane the Biography by Stafford Hildred and Tim Ewbank
This book is the story of Roy Keane,
the inspirational captain of the richest football club in the world -
Manchester United - and captain of the Republic of Ireland’s national
team. He is one of very few players in the modern game whose skill can
turn the most desperate game around in seconds. His successes, however,
have not been achieved without controversy and incident. Keane is famed
for his determination and aggression on the pitch but these characteristics
have meant that he has occasionally hit the headlines for the wrong reasons.
In this revealing biography, the authors show just what makes one of the
world’s finest football players tick. They speak to his family, friends
and colleagues, and uncover the inside story of the football, the big
money, and the men who make it happen.
Racism and the
Politics of Culture: Irish Travellers by Jane Helleiner
The Irish travelling people constitute
of gypsy-like minority population in Ireland that has been a long-standing
target of racism and assimilative state settlement policies. Using archival
and ethnographic research, the author’s study documents anti-Traveller
racism in Ireland and explores the ongoing realities of Traveller life.
Through analyses of constructions of Traveller origins, local government
records, the provincial press, and debates of the Irish parliament, a
history of local and national anti-Traveller discourse and practice in
the independent Irish state is revealed and linked to the legitimation
and reproduction of other social inequalities, including those of class,
gender, and generation. The author research, conducted in the course of
long-term residence in a Traveller camp, supports her historical analysis
with an examination of how travelling, work, gender, and childhood become
sites for the production and reproduction of contemporary Traveller collective
identity and culture even as they are shaped by oppressive forces of racism.
These phenomena are located within political struggles at local, national
and European levels.
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Thicker Than Water:
Irish Stories edited by Gordon Snell
This anthology contains a kaleidoscope
of stories about coming of age in Ireland and America, by twelve Irish
and Irish-American writers who in their different ways succeed brilliantly
in conveying the universal longing of the young to grow up, to find love,
and to start a new life as an adult.Freshly commissioned by Gordon Snell,
these memorable stories range from the uproariously funny to the macabre,
from the gently humorous to the tragic, and from the reflective to the
bittersweet. They are told in powerfully individual voices by Vincent
Banville, Maeve Binchy, Marita Conlon-McKenna, June Considine, Shane Connaughton,
Peter Cunningham, Ita Daly, Emma Donoghue, Tony Hickey, Chris Lynch, Helena
Mulkerns, and Jenny Roche.
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