Read Ireland Book Review
Issue 277
Joyce in Art: Visual Art Inspired by James Joyce by Christa-Maria Lerm Hayes
Trade Paperback with End-flaps; 50 Euro / 60 USD / 40.00 UK; 410 pages, with colour and black-and-white illustrations throughout
This book accompanies the exhibition of the same title at the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, curated by the author for the 16 June 2004 centenary of Bloomsday. It is the first art historical account of visual art inspired by James Joyce. At once a comprehensive and selective study, it focuses on the most original, provocative and best-informed artists who took an interest in Joyce. Every major art movement since the 1910s (from Vorticism to the present multi-faceted artistic landscape) is represented in this book with new interpretative perspectives. Protagonists of these movements are joined by lesser-known contemporaries from around the world and their exciting, relevant work. All the featured artists have in common their passion for Joyce – of their preoccupation with a writer they found to be an obstacle or an irritation.
Joyce’s literary innovations – from the epiphanies and the stylistic multiplicity of Ulysses, to the employment of sigla and portmanteau words in Finnegans Wake – have proved highly interesting to visual artists who are free to rework Joyce’s fascinating motifs and fruitful strategies into their own media. James Joyce himself is established as a conceptual, visual artist: creator of the Fluviana.
The Battle of Kinsale edited by Hiram Morgan
Large Paperback; 35 Euro / 42.00 USD / 27.00 UK; 432 pages, with photos and maps throughout [Add To Basket]
The Battle of Kinsale (1601/2) was a decisive event in both contemporary politics and the longer run of Irish history. The Irish confederate army lead by Hugh O’Neill, 6000 strong and composed of the best that Gaelic Ireland could muster, was routed by Lord Deputy Mountjoy’s much smaller force as it attempted to rendezvous with the besieged Spanish expedition inside Kinsale. The defeat marked the beginning of a cataclysmic epoch in Irish history. Within six years most of the greatest Irish lords had been forced to flee the country, leaving the Irish people almost leaderless and exhausted from war and conflict. This illustrated book has its origin in the ‘Kinsale Winter School’ held in January 2002 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the battle. In 21 chapters and 10 appendices, 20 authors from Ireland, England, Spain and America deal with the battle, its background, its participants, its consequences for Gaelic Ireland and its place in Irish history.
Parnell and His Ireland by George Moore, edited by Carla King
Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 24.00 USD / 15.00 UK; 127 pages
The essays in this book caused outrage in Ireland when first published in the French newspaper ‘Le Figaro’ in 1886. They were published in English in book form the following year and represent Moore’s interpretation of life in Ireland in the early 1880s, written in his combative and naturalistic style. In some respects the work addresses similar themes and can be seen as a companion piece to his famous novel, ‘A Drama in Muslin’. Moore, the eldest son of a Catholic landlord and Home Rule MP, spares neither landlords nor tenants, priests or nationalists in his narrative. Yet his depictions of the Irish landscape are often lyrical and memorable and he gives a vivid impression of the atmosphere of the country in the short period between the Land War and the Plan of Campaign. Until the publication of this edition, this was a rare book. Some sections included in the original French version, but expurgated by the English publisher, have been restored here, with translations, in the notes.
The Grand Tour of Limerick by Cornelius Kelly
Paperback; 13.00 Euro / 16.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 230 pages, with black-and-white photos and illustrations throughout [Add To Basket]
This book explores County Limerick through the eyes of sixty-four visitors. For centuries visitors have written about their experiences in Limerick. This anthology brings together the best of these first-hand accounts spanning five centuries. There’s a Jacobite soldier at the Siege of Limerick, Catherine McAuley setting up a Convent of Mercy, Eamon de Valera seeing Ireland for the very first time. Along with Brendan Behan, Heinrich Boll, Charles Dickens and Harold Pinter, they take the reader on a tour of every corner of the county. Their accounts, brought to life with old maps, photographs and pictures, are a valuable archive of Limerick’s history.
Celtic Coinage by Philip de Jersey
Paperback; 9.00 Euro / 11.00 USD / 6.00 UK;
In the space of little more than a hundred years, from the Roman conquest of Gaul in the mid-first century BC to the defeat of Boudicca in AD 61, saw the final and arguably the most impressive phase in the development of Celtic coinage. The coins are not only beautiful and attractive in their own right, but also extraordinarily useful evidence in our attempts to understand Celtic society at this period. This book provides a general introduction to Celtic coinage, analyses how and why the coins were made, describes the most significant types and many of the more obscure varieties, and explains how the coins and the images they carry reveal information on the political, economic, and social life of the Celts. The book is fully illustrated with some of the best examples of Celtic coinage and provides details of museums where coins can be seen, as well as suggestions for more detailed reading.
Celtic Crosses by Malcolm Seaborne
Paperback; 9.00 Euro / 11.00 USD / 6.00 UK. [Add To Basket]
One of the principal forms of memorial used in Ireland and other Celtic area influenced by Ireland has been that of the ‘Celtic Cross’. Ring-headed crosses of impressive height and intricate design were first erected in Ireland and Iona from the eighth century onwards. This book deals with these but also shows how they were the culmination of a long period of development during the early Christian period. The early sculpture of Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Ireland is examined against the background of the spread of Christian beliefs and practices. Examples selected from the whole of the Celtic west between the fifth and eleventh centuries are fully discussed and illustrated. A bibliography and list of places to visit are also included.
Celtic Warriors by W.F. & J.N.G. Ritchie
Paperback; 9.00 Euro / 11.00 USD / 6.00 UK. [Add To Basket]
This book examines the weapons and battle tactics of the Celtic tribes of Europe from the fifth to the first century BC using both documentary and archaeological evidence. The writings of several classical authors give valuable information about the impact of the ‘barbarian tribes’ on the Roman world, telling us about the stature of the warriors, their skills at chariotry and their bombastic manner, as well as offering vivid accounts of combats between champions. The evidence of archaeology, both from elaborate burials and from chance finds, shows the high standard of craftsmanship of Celtic arms. With both line drawings and photographs, the book illustrates the main categories of weapons – shields, swords, spears and helmets – as well as some of the more unusual equipment such as mail. There is a list of museums with collections of Celtic weaponry and a select bibliography.
The Antiquities of Ireland by Edward Ledwich
Trade paperback; 100 Euro / 120 USD / 70 UK; 550 pages, with fold out maps and drawings throughout. [Add To Basket]
This edition is the 1991 facsimile reprint of the entire classic book originally published in 1804.
Monaghan Cathedral by Joseph Duffy, Bishop of Clogher
Paperback; 5.00 Euro / 6.00 USD / 3.50 UK; full colour throughout [Add To Basket]
This book is an invitation to visit St. Macartan’s Cathedral in Monaghan. It introduces history, architecture and liturgy. With 25 illustrations.
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