Read Ireland Book Review
Issue 213
The Victorian Visitor in Ireland: Irish Tourism 1840-1910 by Donal Horgan
Large Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 23.50 USD / 17.50 UK; Heritage Council, 120 pages, with b/w photos throughout [Add To Basket]
This book is an exploration of Irish tourism in the Victorian Age. It draws on the experiences and accounts of Victorians visiting such locations as Dublin, Killarney, the Giant's Causeway and sea-side resorts such as Bray, Portrush and Kilkee - not to mention Lisdoonvaran, spar resort and perennial favourite of all health conscious Victorians. The book also captures the Victorians on holiday through the camera lens, principally through a selection of photographs from the Lawrence Photographic Company. It is not, however, just the landmarks that will be familiar: today's tourist will also recognise a kindred spirit in his Victorian counterpart. While changing boxes have long since disappeared, the Victorian portmanteau was crammed with every bit as much tourist paraphernalia as would befit today's credit card wielding traveller. Likewise, thoughts of food, hotel accommodation and transport occupied the mind of the Victorian visitor every bit as much as the splendors of the Irish landscape.
Defending Peace: Ireland's Role in a Changing Europe by John Maguire
Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 17.50 USD / 13.50 UK; Cork UP, 136 pages [Add To Basket]
This book traces how the European Union, under the influence of NATO, has evolved a disturbingly militaristic 'common defense policy', and how successive Irish governments have misled the Irish people into involvement in it. It shows that this policy is hugely at odds with the values allegedly underlying Irish foreign policy, particularly peace building under UN authority, and with those of the Peace Process. Far from failing, the UN has been prevented from fulfilling its mandate by the large industrial and military states, and a UN reclaimed by global civil society is the most practical alternative to NATO's lawless aggression.
Identity Parades: Northern Irish Culture and Dissident Subjects by Richard Kirkland
Paperback; 27.00 Euro / 32.00 USD / 23.50 UK; Liverpool UP, 198 pages [Add To Basket]
This book is an investigation of the role and importance of identity politics in modern Northern Irish society. Through a discussion of the kinds of texts that are often overlooked in analyses of culture in the North - such as film, biography, popular fiction and travel writing - the book charts the rise of identity as an increasingly popular way of defining individual and communal affiliation and considers its importance within Northern Irish political discourse as a whole. In this, the book identifies not only the possibilities but also the limits of 'identitarian' thinking and describes the ways in which identity positions in the North can become troubled, fossilised and, ultimately, self-parodic.
Bright Waters: A Celebration of Irish Game, Coarse and Sea Angling edited by Niall Fallon and Tom Fort
Hardback; 35.00 Euro / 40.00 USD / 30.00 UK; Merlin Unwin, 244 pages [Add To Basket]
This delightful collection of Irish fishing tales includes, for the first time in one volume, a heady mix of the best game, coarse and sea fishing writers. Ireland's superb fishing and scenery have inspired many fine writers. Among them are the Judge T.C. Kingsmill Moore, philosopher A.A. Luce, American journalist Negley Farson, poet Seamus Heaney - some are well known names, others will be new discoveries. The editors of this collection have interspersed lyrical descriptions of Ireland with dramatic accounts of big fish and stories of some great angling characters and comic situations. This book confirms that the literary tradition behind Irish angling is alive and well.
The Grand Tour of Galway by Cornelius Kelly
Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 17.50 USD / 13.50 UK; Coileach Books, 230 pages [Add To Basket]
County Galway, Ireland, as seen through the eyes of over sixty visitors, the book brings together eight centuries of travel writing about the county, its dramatic landscapes and rich history. Brendan Behan, James Joyce, William Makepeace Thackery, W.B. Yeats and many others share their adventures and impressions. You will hear from the filmmaker documenting live on Aran, the German prince looking for a rich bride, and the American missionary distributing Bibles on the eve of the Famine. These accounts, brought to life with antique maps, historical photographs and rare illustrations, take the reader on a journey through all parts of the county - from Galway City to the Aran Islands, from Connemara to East Galway.
Charles 'Nomad' McGuinness: Being a True Account of the Amazing Adventures of a Derryman by John McGuffin and Joseph Mulheron
Paperback; 15.50 Euro / 18.00 USD / 11.00 UK; Irish Resistance Books, 248 pages [Add To Basket]
In this book the authors incorporated first-hand accounts, archival material, memoirs (some irrefutably authentic and others of questionable credibility) as well as interviews with long lost relatives, those who knew him and even those who just have a good yarn to tell. Having waded through reams of newsprint and poured for hours over yellowing photographs, not to mention the arguments over content, the unexpurgated truth can finally be told (or at least as near as it was possible to verify). The problem of piecing together the extraordinary life of Charles McGuinness was compounded for the authors by the shortage of independent accounts of his exploits. McGuinness was not one to hide his light under a bushel and his own accounts sometimes vary wildly from what was strictly accurate. However, this hugely enjoyable account separates the fact from the fantasy without losing the larger than life character of the man himself.
A Place for Unicorns by Nicola Lindsay
Paperback; 8.99 Euro / 10.00 USD / 7.50 UK; Poolbeg, 450 pages [Add To Basket]
Eight-year-old Anna arrives in Pisa with her mother, the beautiful but selfish Rosalind, for an Italian holiday. While Rosalind seems happy and carefree, Anna is homesick for her father David who has been left behind in disgrace. He drinks too much and Rosalind knows he is unfaithful. Their Italian idyll is shattered by a fatal car crash that leaves Rosalind in a wheelchair and forces their return where David must take care of his embittered and angry wife and unhappy daughter. Further devastating events bring Anna to the wild but beautiful Ballynacarraig in the west of Ireland to live with her eccentric Aunt Pog. As she grows into a young woman, Anna continues her search for the love and affection she was so starved of in her youth. This is a wonderful novel, by turns poignant and passionate, from a new Irish talent.
Read Ireland Bookstore
392 Clontarf Road
Clontarf, Dublin 3
Ireland
Tel + Fax: +353-18-302-997
Customer Services Comments, Criticism and Questions
Subscribe to Read Ireland Book News - Our Free Weekly Email Newsletter