Read Ireland Book Review
Issue 269
Architecture and the Arts
James Joyce's Dublin by Ian Gunn and Clive Hart
Large Hardback; 45.00 Euro / 55.00 USD / 33.50 UK; 160 pages, with photos, illustrations, maps and drawings throughout
'Ulysses' is one of the most realistic novels ever written. Commentary on it has often focused on its important place in the history of modernism, its break with narrative convention, its exploration of the dilemmas of life in the twentieth century. In this book, published on the centenary of the novel's action, the authors examine instead the importance of its basis in physical fact. The characters, many of them Dubliners appearing under their own names, visit shop and pubs that can be precisely located in the streets of Dublin. Despite refurbishment of the city in recent decades, some of those establishments remain. This book offers a full account of them all and analyses their significance in the narrative.
The book includes an analysis of Joyce's use of Thom's Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; an account of the characters' movements episode by episode; an alphabetical list of the postal addresses of characters and places; a timetable of corresponding events; a note about unresolved problems; a detailed set of maps based on originals from early in the twentieth century; and a selection of historical illustrations, mainly of places and monuments that no longer survive.
The Scenery and Antiquities of Ireland by J. Stirling Coyne with drawings by W.H. Butler
Large Hardback; 20.00 Euro / 25.00 USD / 15.00 UK; 451 pages, with illustrations throughout [Add To Basket]
This fine edition of a classic work, first published in 1842, traces a journey through Ireland and reveals not only the beauty and grandeur of the Irish countryside at that time, but also depicts, in wonderfully detailed engravings, a wealth of fine architectural and historical landmarks.
Yeats: Portrait of an Artistic Family by Hilary Pyle
Large Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 25.00 USD / 15.00 UK; 304 pages, with full colour illustrations throughout
From the foreword: 'Since the middle of the nineteenth century the Yeats family have contributed on a virtually continuous basis to the cultural life of Ireland, in writing, theatre, painting and printing. Thanks to the generosity of the Yeats family and other individuals and corporations, the National Gallery of Ireland today possesses the most comprehensive collection of artworks by the family, embracing paintings, watercolours, drawings, sketchbooks, embroidery and other media. This book has been compiled to provide the visitor with a commentary on the collection, providing a detailed analysis of the oil paintings, watercolours and drawings together with more concise accounts of other material. The text is complemented by a visual survey of the collection.'
The Maze by Donovan Wylie
Hardback; 35.00 Euro / 42.00 USD / 27.00 UK; 112 pages, with full colour photos throughout [Add To Basket]
The Maze prison in Northern Ireland was a model of repetitive and systematic architecture. Its primary function was to contain and isolate. Opened in 1976 at the height of the Northern Ireland conflict, it held both republican and loyalist prisoners in its eight H-blocks. Through its history of protests, hunger strikes and escapes, the Maze prison became synonymous with the Northern Ireland Troubles. After the peace negotiations, it was finally closed in October 2003. Donovan Wylie, renowned photographer, over the period of a year, spent almost 100 days photographing the inside of the prison. Gradually he came to understand the psychology of the architecture and its ability to distort and diminish. His photographs are a testimony to that experience.
A History of Irish Theatre 1601-2000 by Christopher Morash
Paperback; 27.50 Euro / 33.00 USD / 19.00 UK; 322 pages
This account of Irish theatre, newly published in paperback, winner of the Theatre Book Prize 2002, traces an often forgotten history leading up to the Irish Literary Revival. He then follows that history to the present by creating a remarkably clear picture of the cultural contexts that produced the playwrights who have been responsible for making Irish theatre's worldwide historical and contemporary reputation. The main chapters are each followed by shorter chapters, focusing on a single night at the theatre. This prize-winning book is an essential, entertaining and highly original guide to the history and performance of Irish theatre.
Irish National Cinema by Ruth Barton
Paperback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 18.00 UK; 215 pages, with black-and-white photos throughout [Add To Basket]
This account of Irish film, from the silent era to the present day, shows how, in a country where the modern has long been regarded as a source of suspicion, cinema has occupied a fraught position within Irish society. Attacked by the Catholic Church for its detrimental influence on the faithful, regarded by the left as a tool of capitalism and by the Republican movement as a weapon of imperialism, it provided the battleground for the competing discourses within the emergent State during the early years of the twentieth century. At the same time, for the emigrant Irish, particularly in Britain and America, the cinema articulated, responded to and fashioned their experiences of departure and arrival. In this book the author argues that, in order to understand the unique inheritance on which contemporary Irish filmmakers draw, definitions of Irish culture and identity must engage with the cinema of the diaspora. In her discussion of contemporary Irish filmmaking, she further reflects on questions of nationalism, gender, and the representation of the Troubles and of Irish history, as well as cinema's response to the legacy of the 'Celtic Tiger'.
Ancient Ireland: An Explorer's Guide by Robert Emmet Meagher and Elizabeth Parker Neave
Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 24.00 USD / 15.00 UK; 280 pages with full colour photos throughout [Add To Basket]
This is a splendid guidebook to Ireland's stunning antiquities - its passage tombs, ring forts, castles, Neolithic settlements, and monastic sites. With its witty and erudite explorations of Irish mythology, history, literature, archaeology, and architecture, this book makes an excellent companion on a journey around Ireland. Along with fascinating overviews of prehistoric, Celtic and early Christian, and early medieval times, the authors give the visitor concrete help in finding the most captivating sites that preserve that history today.
The Courthouses of Ireland compiled by Mildred Dunne and Brian Phillips
Hardback; 35.00 Euro / 42.00 USD / 27.00 UK; 325 pages, with full colour photos throughout [Add To Basket]
This book details an important aspect of Irish living and working heritage. The court buildings themselves represent a study over time of how Irish society sees itself in the matter of the administration of justice, providing both a functioning 'working machine' and forum for seeing that justice is being done. For this reason alone they have a heritage value, as well as in many cases, being simply beautiful and important examples of architectural skill and imagination. The book is intended for all those interested in Irish architectural heritage and the administration of justice and its reflects the determination of all three bodies involved to conserve those buildings of historic and architectural importance and to record for the future an accurate record of the fabric of the Irish courts system.
The Castles of Leinster by Mike Salter
Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 25.00 USD / 14.00 UK; 200 pages, black-and-white photos throughout [Add To Basket]
This book is a comprehensive guide to castles, fortified houses, bawns and town defenses in the twelve counties of the eastern and south-eastern parts of Ireland which make up the province of Leinster. An introduction describing the development of castellated buildings of stone in Leinster, dating from the late 12th century to the mid 17th century, is followed by twelve gazetteers describing the history and architectural features of over 350 such buildings in the counties of Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow. The gazetteers are illustrated with many plans, drawings and photographs, and there is a map showing the location of surviving buildings. Lists at the ends of the gazetteers provide summary information on 300 other buildings, and also sites of lost castles.
Newgrange: Temple to Life A Re-Interpretation by Chris O'Callaghan
Paperback; 14.00 Euro / 17.50 USD / 9.50 UK; 90 pages, with illustrations throughout [Add To Basket]
Despite the accepted fact that Newgrange is one of the most advanced Neolithic constructions designed and built to manage the rays of the sun, many writers persist with the 300 year old classification that Newgrange is merely a passage grave, or burial chamber. In this book the author challenges that claim, proposing that this commonly coined 'passage grave' description seriously misrepresents what the leaders, astronomers, architects, engineers, artists, builders and hundreds of workers achieved on the Newgrange ridge over 5000 years ago.
Living Under Thatch by Barry O'Reilly
Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 88 pages, with illustrations throughout [Add To Basket]
This book is a wonderfully illustrated celebration of traditional thatched buildings in Ireland (with a special emphasis on those in County Offaly). It explores the history of thatch, together with its future in a modern Ireland and examines the problems and joys of living in one of Ireland's most recognizable icons - the thatched house.
Gregory Carr, Bookseller
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