Read Ireland Book Review
Issue 283
The Hook Peninsula: Rural Landscapes by Billy Colfer
Large Hardback; 40.00 Euro / 48.00 USD / 30.00 UK; 242 pages, full colour illustrations throughout
Located in County Wexford, the Hook Peninsula was the first to be conquered by the Anglo-Normans and its landscape was shaped by the establishment of two Cistercian abbeys (Tintern and Dunbrody) in the Middle Ages. The location of the peninsula beside a major estuary and busy shipping lanes was of vital importance. The Hook figured prominently in the Confederate Wars in the seventeenth century and in the 1798 rebellion. Today the peninsula attracts holiday makers and the insatiable demand for holiday homes presents a challenge for admirers of this marvelous but vulnerable landscape.
Boats and Shipwrecks of Ireland by Colin Breen and Wes Forsythe
Trade Paperback; 30.00 Euro / 35.00 USD / 18.00 UK; 192 pages, with photos and illustrations throughout [Add To Basket]
The coastal waters around Ireland were witness to millennia of seafaring activity. This book provide a broad introduction to the archaeology of vessels in these waters by reviewing the types of evidence available and presenting a survey of past work in this field. The evidence is examined chronologically, from the prehistoric to the early modern period. It reveals the early use of dugout canoes and other boat types in Irish prehistory, through to the voyaging of early Irish saints and the arrival of the Vikings. Various types of medieval vessels are described, and examples of Irish and foreign ships wrecked while engaged in fishing, trade, piracy and war after 1400 are presented. The sources for the study of these craft are described throughout the book.
A History of the Ulster Unionist Party: Protest, Pragmatism and Pessimism by Graham Walker
Trade Paperback; 27.50 Euro / 33.50 USD / 16.00 UK; 308 pages
This is the first substantial history to trace the political development of the Ulster Unionist Party. It covers the years of protest and opposition to Irish Home Rule, the half-century as a governing party within Northern Ireland and beyond to the era of the contemporary troubles and the current attempts to bring peace to the Province. It demonstrates why the Party has been so central to efforts to reach a political settlement, and explains why it was for so long the main political voice of the pro-Union electorate in Northern Ireland.
An important and well-researched work based on extensive primary source research, it brings to light forgotten historical episodes of contemporary political significance, and provides new angles on old controversies and debates. The book discusses the evolution of the Ulster Unionist Party with reference to competing ideological currents, class and social tensions with the Unionist movement, and the role of leadership figures and maverick personalities. This is a book which maps the party’s historical journey from the dramatic days of Carson to the current predicaments of Trimble. (Also available in Hardback priced at 70 Euro)
Sun and Wind by Standish James O’Grady
Paperback; 18.00 Euro / 23.00 USD / 13.50 UK; 150 pages [Add To Basket]
This book was the author’s last work, which he was editing at the time of his death in 1928. Some parts of it were published as journal articles in his lifetime, but most is published here for the first time. The editor describes O’Grady as ‘at once a political polemicist, a creative writer, and a somewhat unusual historian’, involved in all three roles in this utopian treatise which ‘reveals the pervasive influence of classical scholarship upon the Irish intellectual life of the period.’ O’Grady argues for drastic change in Ireland in the first part and in the second makes extensive use of classical Greece as a model for Ireland.
Irish Recollections by Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna
Paperback; 18.00 Euro / 23.00 USD / 13.50 UK; 176 pages
‘To be sure I hated Ireland most cordially: I had never seen it, and as a matter of choice would have preferred New South Wales, so completely was I influenced by the prevailing prejudice against that land of barbarism!’ Thus Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna recalled in her memoirs her view of Ireland as she had set off for that country in 1818. But she came to love Ireland so much so that after her death her grave was planted with shamrocks. In this abridged version of the second edition of ‘Personal Reflections’ (1847), Tonna gives a wild account of her time in Ireland, of the violent activities of the Rockite movement in the mid 1820s in Kilkenny-Tipperary and of the apocalyptic ultra-Evangelical ‘siege mentality’ during the Tithe War and the run-up to Catholic Emancipation. It is also a valuable memoir of her religious and literary development.
Political Issues in Ireland Today edited by Neil Collins and Terry Cradden
Trade Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 24.00 USD / 15.00 UK; 214 pages [Add To Basket]
This book covers a wide range of policy areas in the Republic and Northern Ireland. It fills a major gap in the literature on Irish politics, providing readers with a comprehensive introduction to the issues dominating politics debates in both parts of Ireland. The book brings together senior political scientists to provide a reliable and up-to-date guide to current developments. These contributors explore Irish politics in a comparative manner, first addressing the Celtic Tiger phenomenon, then exploring the relationship between Ireland and the European Union, before looking at the obstacles that still hamper the peace process in Northern Ireland. Further chapters look at local and regional government in Ireland, the topical issue of social partnership, health care, environmental policy, science and technology policy, the thorny and relatively new problem of immigration and racism, and gender and political participation.
A Companion to the Causeway Coast Way by Philip Watson
Spiral Binding; 16.00 Euro / 20.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 120 pages [Add To Basket]
This book is a comprehensive companion to the Causeway Coast Way which spans the north cost of Northern Ireland from Portstewart to Ballycastle, a distance of 33 miles (53 kilometers). The book splits the route into seven easily walked sections, giving the rambler – of any ability – a good choice of excursions. It goes far beyond the scope of a basic guidebook, providing a wide range of information in a light style and very accessible format. Landscape, wildlife – including marine life – archaeology, local history and conservation are all covered, with a comprehensive reading list. The book is liberally illustrated with colour photographs and sketch maps.
Conflict, Controversy and Co-Operation by Norman Taggart
Paperback; 10.00 Euro / 12.50 USD / 7.00 UK; 142 pages [Add To Basket]
This book is the story of the Irish Council of Churches between 1968 and 1972, the first four years of ‘The Troubles’. It contains important new material and traces the first formal contacts between the Irish Council of Churches, its member churches and the Roman Catholic Church.
The Land of Unlikeness: Explorations into Reconciliation by David Stevens
Paperback; 10.00 Euro / 12.50 USD / 7.00 UK; 142 pages [Add To Basket]
The book comes out of the experience of living in the society of Northern Ireland, which has undergone some level of political violence during the whole of the author’s life. It is, therefore, about Northern Ireland, but is also about more, namely the many other societies experiencing violent conflict or coming out of violent conflict.
Dictionary of Cork Slang by Sean Beecher
Paperback; 14.00 Euro / 17.00 USD / 9.00 UK; 116 pages [Add To Basket]
This book is a collection of words not usually found in dictionaries which gives colour, vigour and individuality to the spoken word in Cork. It explains their meaning, gives examples of usage, and traces their derivations from sources as predictable as the Irish language to such exotic and unexpected ones as Hindustani to Shelta, as well as English, French, Norse and Dutch. The phonetic form of each word is given. There are almost 400 entries, 1000 derivations and 21 illustrations by renowned Cork artist William Harrington.
A Taste of West Cork by Chef Rory Morahan
Oblong Paperback; 14.00 Euro / 17.00 USD / 9.00 UK; full colour throughout [Add To Basket]
West Cork is a place apart. This book is very much a product of the region, presenting recipes that will both delight the senses and guide the user to the natural qualities and flavours innate to West Cork. Traditional recipes like brown soda bread and stuffed pigs trotters sit comfortably with the more adventurous, allowing both the novice and cordon bleu inspired reader to be stimulated. Seven menus are suggested incorporating recipes for truly Irish dishes.
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