Read Ireland Book Review
Issue 194
Bastketmaking in Ireland by Joe Hogan
Paperback; 25.00 Euro / 22.50 USD / 15.00 UK; Wordwell, 300 pages [Add To Basket]
The main purpose of this book is to record the techniques used in making Irish traditional baskets, a task that became more urgent as indigenous baskets, such as creels and lobster pots, began to go out of use. The history of the baskets and their uses are included because, in order to understand or even make these baskets, the author feels strongly that some knowledge of, and respect for, the people who made and used them is required. The book is structured so that each chapter contains information for the reader who has a general interest in traditional craft; each chapter also has a technique section giving details of how to make many of the baskets described. Contains numerous b/w photos and drawings.
Shipbuilding in Waterford in 1820-1882: A Historical, Technical and Pictorial Study by Bill Irish
Hardback; 35.00 Euro / 31.50 USD / 22.00 UK; Wordwell, 272 pages [Add To Basket]
This book is a remarkable study of shipbuilding. At the heart of the book is the ethos and contribution of the local Quaker families who were central to both phases of Waterford shipbuilding. The book that has resulted is unique in its range, its use of reconstructions and visual materials, and its lyrical evocation of craft skills as they were practised, and its admiration for the ordinary man who performed the difficult and sometimes prodigious feats it describes. It is full of colourful detail, whether dealing with the apprenticeship system, work practices or the excitement of the great launch days. It is also a wonderful visual record, particularly of ships and of Waterford's riverfront and estuary.
The Souterrains of Ireland by Mark Clinton
Hardback; 35.00 Euro / 31.50 USD / 22.00 UK; Wordwell, 309 pages [Add To Basket]
What exactly is a "souterrain"? The word itself is French in origin from 'sous' (under) and 'terrain' (ground). In short, therefore, a souterrain is an underground structure. Colloquially, these structures will invariably be referred to throughout the island as 'caves' and they are generally marked 'cave' on Ordnance Survey maps. To date, there has been no comprehensive study dealing with this ubiquitous monument type in Ireland. This is the definitive book on souterrains.
Antiquities of West Mayo by Christian Corlett
Hardback; 35.00 Euro / 31.50 USD / 22.00 UK; Wordwell, 168 pages [Add To Basket]
This book is a synthesis of the archaeology of West Country Mayo, namely, the two baronies of Burrishoole and Murrisk, which once formed the ancient territory known as Umhall. It details the rich archaeological, historical, and folk heritage - from prehistoric times to the twentieth century - of an area of the west of Ireland world-renowned for the beauty of its coastline, islands and mountains. The book is a photographically focused work, with many of the mountains of the area illustrated in 91 colour photographs, 20 b/w photos, and 23 figures. It includes a gazetteer and map of the archaeological monuments, to facilitate readers wishing to explore the area for themselves.
Clones Lace: The Story and Patterns of an Irish Crochet by Maire Treanor
Large Paperback; 12.99 Euro / 11.99 USD / 7.99 UK; Mercier Press, 111 pages [Add To Basket]
This book tells the social history of the crochet lace-making tradition in south Ulster. Between the mid-nineteenth century and early twentieth century, almost every family in the area made Clones lace. It offered great opportunities for young people, many of whom travelled to Dublin to train in design and then taught it in the west of Ireland. The lace-making industry declines, as fashions changed and machine-made lace became more popular, in the early twentieth century. The lace continued to be made locally until the 1960s. The second part of the book is aimed at the beginner, with guides to easy-to-do motifs that introduce the beautiful craft of Clones lace.
Believe It Or Not: A Memoir by Patrick Semple
Paperback; 12.99 Euro / 11.99 USD / 7.99 UK; Columba Press, 180 pages [Add To Basket]
Patrick Semple was born into the minority Church of Ireland community in Wexford at the beginning of the Second World War. 'These were the days of Catholic triumphalism when ecumenism in provincial Ireland was non-existent,' he says. This is a very straight-talking, honest and often humorous insider account of growing up in such a church in such a society. Religion was also a factor in getting his first job in Britain's motor assemblers in Rathmines in Dublin, but did not interfere with the lively social life of his late teens. From there, the development of a sense of vocation, education at Trinity College, entry into the ministry and a first parish appointment in Belfast. Again, he chronicles the culture-clash between the world in which he grew up and the very different circumstances of religiously divided Belfast. In a very full life of ministry, the author talks of ecumenism at parish level, of the idiosyncracies of aspects of the life of the Church of Ireland, and about difficulties with various aspects of Christian faith itself.
Theatre Talk: Voices of Irish Theatre Practitioners edited by Lilian Chambers, Ger Fitzgibbon and Eamonn Jordan
Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 14.00 UK; Carysfort Press, 495 pages [Add To Basket]
This book is a collection of interviews with 39 of Ireland's leading 'Theatre Practitioners': Ben Barnes, Sebastian Barry, Dermot Bolger, Jason Byrne, Marina Carr, Daragh Carville, Michael Colgan, Frank Conway, Anne Devlin, Joe Dowling, Bernard Farrell, Olwen Fouere, Ben Hennessy and Pat Kiernan, Declan Hughes, Garry Hynes, Marie Jones, John B. Keane, Raymond Keane, Tom Kilroy, Hugh Leonard, Tim Loane, Tomas Mac Anna, Barry McGovern, Frank McGuinness, Tom Mac Intyre, Patrick Mason, Paul Mercier, Eleanor Methven and Carol Moore, Tom Murphy, Paddy O'Dwyer, Fintan O'Toole, Lynne Parker, Billy Roche, Annie Ryan and Michael West, Phyllis Ryan, Peter Sheridan, Gerard Stembridge, Enda Walsh and Vincent Woods.
Brits: The War Against the IRA by Peter Taylor
Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 13.50 USD / 9.50 UK; Bloomsbury, 450 pages, with b/w photo insert [Add To Basket]
In the final part of his trilogy exploring The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the author talks to undercover agents of the Belfast state and reveals for the first time the secrets of the war they waged against the IRA for thirty years. 'Provos' and 'Loyalists' told the story of the conflict from the respective viewpoints of the Republicans and Loyalists; now the story, with all its tragic twists and turns, is told from the British perspective. In this fully updated paperback edition, soldiers, Special Branch officers and MI6 agents step out of the shadows and, along with Whitehall mandarins who helped shape policy from Westminster, explore and explain their experience. This important and impressive book, meticulously researched, accurate and balanced, is vital to any collection of Irish politics and current affairs.
New Survey of Clare Island Volume 2: Geology edited by John Graham
hardback; 30.00 Euro / 26.00 USD / 16.00 UK; [Add To Basket]
Clare Island lies at the entrance to Clew Bay in County Mayo, some 5km from the west coast of the Irish mainland. The dominating feature of the island is a ridge that runs east to west, attaining a height of 465m at Croachmore and forming precipitous sea cliffs along the northern shore. Clare Island has a long history of habitation from at least 3500BC. There is an abundance of Bronze Age sites, a 13th century Cistercian Abbey adorned with painted frescoes and the island harbour is guarded by the fort of Grace O'Malley, the battling pirate queen of Elizabethan times. The first Clare Island survey of 1909-1922 was the most ambitious natural history project ever undertaken in Ireland and the first major biological survey of a specific area carried out in the world. This volumes examines the geology of Clare Island. Its physical appearance today reflects a geological history of over 500 million years.
Dear Yeats, Dear Pound, Dear Ford: Jeanne Robert Foster and Her Circle of Friends by Richard and Janis Londraville
Hardback; 34.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 21.00 UK; Syracuse UP, 283 pages [Add To Basket]
The life of a remarkable Adirondack woman (model, journalist, and poet) provides readers with a unique insider's view into art and literature during the birth of the Age of Modernism. Jeanne Robert Foster challenged the accepted role for women at the turn of the twentieth century. Born on a hardscrabble farm in the Adirondack Mountains in 1879, she was hailed as an important voice in American poetry by 1916 when her first books of verse. "Neighbors of Yesterday" and "Wild Apples" were published. She has early success as a model - she was the Harrison Fisher girl of 1903 - and later became a journalist for the American Review of Reviews. In 1918, she met John Quinn, patron of the arts, which placed her in the middle of some of the most important literary and artistic movements in the twentieth century.
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