Read Ireland Book News - Issue 27
<-- [Back To Main Menu] 1. A Year at Ballymaloe Cookery School by Darina Allen (hardback; 19.99 IRP / 30 USD approximately) [Add To Basket]
Darina Allen is one of the world's most charismatic and energetic cooks. Her approach is simple, her style refreshingly innovative. This book demonstrates her consummate skills which pay homage to good food and fresh produce, and celebrates the fertile statements of her creative talents - her gardens.
This inspirational book records Darina's achievements and evokes the changing scenery around the School. As we pass through the seasons from spring towards winter we are offered more than 125 recipes that reflect the bountiful harvest of the local countryside. We also get a vivid idea of the skill of her local producers and we catch glimpses of the animals which add their own particular character to the School - the hens in the 'palais de poulets,' Chervil and Rocket the donkeys, the Kerry cows and the pigs under the apple tree.
This book focuses upon creative new ways with food, but it is more than just another cookery book. It is a celebration of an unprecedented talent. It records the dynamism and successes of a woman whose foresight and imagination have promoted culinary excellence in a small corner of Ireland.
2. Women and Irish History edited by Maryann Gialanella Valiulis and Mary O'Dowd (paperback; 17.99 IRP / 27.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
Written by leading researchers in the field, this book examines the public role of women from the 18th century through to the 20th century. Many of the articles raise serious questions about the traditional historical assumptions that women were passive agents in the political narrative. From philanthropic work in the 1700s to campaigning against de Valera's Constitution in 1937, Irish women have a long history of public action. Concentrating on women challenges historians to explore new definitions of State, nation, citizenship and power - issues which have been central to the debate on Irish history.
Moreover, this volume also examines the writing of women's history and suggests innovative ways in which it can contribute to a reinterpretation of Irish history. This book demonstrates how our understanding of Irish historical experience changes with the inclusion of women.
3. Material Conflicts: Parades and Visual Displays in Northern Ireland by Neil Jarman (paperback; 16.50 IRP / 24.75 USD) [Add To Basket]
The deep and abiding sectarian division splintering Northern Ireland has been the focus of considerable attention recently. In particular, the role which parades and visual displays play in understanding opposition has come into the spotlight with the emergence of heightened tensions, close on the heals of a tentative peace.
Providing penetrating insights into the historical roots of Northern Ireland's ethnic hostilities, this timely book explores the role of images and material culture in shaping present attitudes. Ritual, identity, class and memory are shown to be potent forces informing trenchant animosities - animosities which are visually reflected in banners and murals for unionists and nationalists alike. The pivotal role of the Twelfth of July parade in Belfast, when an estimated 100,000 people either parade or watch the Orangeman, is highlighted.
Anyone interested in the future of Northern Ireland and concerned about escalating conflict across the globe will warmly welcome this impressive study. The book has won the Katherine Briggs Folklore Award for 1997.
The author is a research office at the Centre for the Study of Conflict, University of Ulster.
4. Great Irish Tales of Horror edited and introduced by Peter Haining (hardback; 17.60 IRP / 26.40 USD) [Add To Basket]
Drawn from 200 years of short story writing, these chilling Irish tales include some of the most powerful examples of horror ever conceived, many of them all the more terrifying because the looming dread is understated or unseen, food for the imagination. Several of the stories have been unobtainable for many years, never previously published in book form.
The writers range from the giants of classic horror fiction - Bram Stoker, Sax Rohmer, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, and M.P Shiel - through such masters as George Bernard Shaw, J.M. Synge, and Dorothy Macardle to the sheer genius of the modern exponents of the genre, among them William Trevor, Brian Cleeve, Peter Tremayne, Jack Higgins, Neil Jordan, Brian Moore, and Catherine Brophy. Each brings his or her unique flair to the creation of an atmosphere that sends shivers up the spine or leaves the reader with the uneasy sense of being watched.
5. Edmund Spenser: A View of the State of Ireland edited by Andrew Hadfield and Willy Maley (paperback; 14.40 IRP / 23.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
Edmund Spenser's A View of the State of Ireland is an exemplary text that participates in several historical moments. Since its first publication in 1633 it has been read as an anti-Irish treatise. As a critical intervention in the public sphere by a major canonical author it has been drawn upon by some of the most important writers of subsequent ages, from Milton through to Wordsworth and Heaney.
It has formed a key text in the discussion of modern Ireland by distinguished critics such as Edward Said, Stephen Greenblatt and Declan Kiberd. This new edition of a founding document of English colonial culture promises to bring a compelling and controversial text to a larger audience than has hitherto been possible.
6. Roger Casement's Diaries: 1910: The Black and The White edited by Roger White (paperback; 11.00 IRP / 16.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
Hanged by the British in 1916, Roger Casement is still regarded as a martyr of the nationalist cause. His 'Black and White' Diaries of 1910 provide an astonishing insight into the mind of an exceptional man.
Born in Ireland in 1864, Casement acted as British Consul in various parts of Africa and Brazil, where he denounced atrocities among Congolese and Putumayo rubber workers. He was knighted in 1911 and retired from the consular service two years later. In 1914 he attempted to enlist support, in America and in Germany, for the Irish nationalist cause. Convicted of high treason, he was executed in London at the age of 51.
A compulsive diary writer, his so-called 'Black' Diaries were finally released into the public domain in 1994. At the time of his trial, his diaries - detailing his promiscuous homosexual activities in Brazil - were used to condemn him and, subsequently, to poison his reputation.
The corrected version of the 'Black' Diary for 1910, published here for the first time - as is his more public 'White' Diary of the same year - offers the reader the opportunity to judge its authenticity - still a matter of heated debate. Together they take the reader deep into the mind of the bravest, most selfless and practical humanitarian of the Edwardian age.
7. Boys in Green: The Football Association of Ireland International Story by Sean Ryan (hardback; 17.60 IRP / 26.30 USD) [Add To Basket]
This book tells the real story of the Republic of Ireland's rise from obscurity to its position as one of the top football nations in Europe. Ever since the Football Association of Ireland was formed in 1921 following a split with the Belfast-based Irish Football Association, it has been an uphill struggle for the football people of Ireland.
In the first half of the century, there were as many political battles to be fought as there were international matches to play. Then, it was the turn of the players to revolt - against the outdated Selection Committee system, which had long outlived its usefulness. When that battle was finally won in 1970, there was at last some hope for the future. Managers Liam Tuohy and John Giles helped restore pride and raise expectations, but it wasn't until the unlikely figure of Jack Charlton took over that those expectations were finally realised.
The fruit of exhaustive research, including exclusive access to the minutes of the FAI and countless interviews with the managers, players and legislators, this book tells the stories as they happened: about the time the British Foreign Office intervened on behalf of the FAI, about the player who was banned for stealing an opponent's wallet, and the way Shamrock Rovers undermined Ireland's first World Cup bid, right up to the modern-day controversies like the night Jack Charlton took on Kenny Dalglish - and lost, the breakdown of discipline which led to Charlton's exit, and the reason why Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane didn't hit it off. All the inside stories are here, along with much new information about the matches, the tactics, the players and the managers.
8. Ireland for Kids by Derek Mackenzie-Hook (hardback; 11.00 IRP / 16.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
Whether you live in Ireland or are just planning on visitnt, this treasure trove of ideas will help you make the most of your family's leisure time. Covering every part of the country, this essential guide is packed with details of hundreds of places your kids will enjoy. With comprehensive sections on where to eat and stay, how to get there and what not to miss, this book is the ideal companion for every excursion.
New in Paperback
Dublin Pub Life and Lore: An Oral History by Kevin Kearns (paperback; 9.99 IRP / 15.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
This book is an oral historical chronicle based upon the recollections of old publicans and regulars. The author has captured the folklore, customs, characters, and wit of the traditional Dublin public house. with black-and-white photographs.
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