Read Ireland Book Review
Issue 291
Croke Park: A History by Tim Carey
Hardback; 30.00 Euro / 36.00 USD / 24.00 UK; 200 pages, full colour photos throughout
Croke Park is a sporting icon that is central to Ireland’s national consciousness. Headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association, it occupies a unique role in Irish society. In pure sporting terms, tens of thousands have played on its field while millions have watched its sporting dramas played out. Today it is a magnificent piece of stadium architecture symbolizing not only the strength of the GAA but also, in a wider sense, a confident, modern Ireland.
This book tells for the first time the story of ‘Croker’ from the late 19th century to the present day. Comprehensively researched, it puts the history of the famous ground in the context of the expansion of the GAA, the development of the games and the evolution of Irish society. It pays homage to the great games and personalities and highlights the role of supporters in the history of Croke Park. It also deals with many of the events that are now central parts of the history of the stadium – the Thunder and Lightning Final, Bloody Sunday, the Special Olympics. Accompanying the history is the architectural development of Croke Park culminating in the current spectacular stadium. The magnificence of the stadium and its illustrious history is reflected in the photographs and other illustrations throughout the book.
The Road to Croker: A GAA Fanatic on the Championship Trail by Eamonn Sweeney
Paperback; 12.50 Euro / 15.00 USD / 9.00 UK; 368 pages [Add To Basket]
In a hilarious and riveting account of the 2003 GAA season, acclaimed sportswriter Eamonn Sweeney transports us to the rwa excitement of the terraces, the clubhouses and the bars, recalling the highs and lows of a memorable season. Told with immediacy and verve, THE ROAD TO CROKER is the first book to unravel the mysteries of a national obsession, and reveal why GAA is so central to the pulse of Irish life. Includes interviews and anecdotes from players, managers and supporters, THE ROAD TO CROKER is a GAA book with a difference.
The Lifelong Season: At the Heart of Gaelic Games by Keith Duggan
Paperback; 13.00 Euro / 16.00 USD / 8.50 UK; 294 pages
In this book the author, sportswriter with the Irish Times, explores the heartland of Gaelic games. He considers the moments of inspiration that the very best leave as their gift to those of us who watch from the sidelines. His results are insightful, entertaining and wise. Frank McGuigan, Brian McEniff, Christy Ring, the Gaynors of Tipperary, Crossabeg-Ballymun GAA club, St Jarlath’s of Tuam, Gaelic Park NY, Croke Park and St Laurence O’Toole’s girls’ NS in Dublin, ex-GAA correspondent Paddy Downey and more, all respond to Duggan’s eager, enquiring and fresh perspective.
Gaelic Football’s Top 20 by Colm Keane
Paperback; 12.00 Euro / 15.00 USD / 8.00 UK; 192 pages [Add To Basket]
For the first time ever, 20 of the greatest legends in Gaelic football history are exclusively profiled in this star-studded book. Among the interviewees are Kerry legend Mick O’Connell and Galway’s Sean Purcell, who vividly recount Gaelic football’s golden age in the 1950s and 60s, while Sean O’Neill described Down’s historic breakthrough in 1960. The great Kerry teams of the 1970s and 80s are also represented by stars including Pat Spillane, Mickey Sheedy, Jack O’Shea, John Egan and Eoin Listen, while Dublin’s Jimmy Keaveney and Brian Mullins assess their most memorable battles with the Kerry giants. Elsewhere in the book, Larry Tompkins and Billy Morgan revisit Cork’s matches with Meath in the late 80s and early 90s. Meath’s Colm O’Rourke and Martin O’Connell offer their view of the contests. Offaly are represented by Matt Connor. Donegal’s Martin McHugh and Derry’s Anthony Tohill recall their breakthroughs, unlike Mayo’s Willie Joe Paddon and Sligo’s Mickey Kearins, who instead describe the pain of their counties’ near misses. Enda Colleran remembers Galway’s famous three-in-a-row in the 60s. This book is crammed with anecdotes of the great contests and controversies that have dominated Gaelic football in the last half a century.
All About Gaelic Football by Jerry Grogan and Tom Fitzpatrick
Paperback, 10.00 Euro / 13.00 USD / 7.00 UK; 32 pages
Who won four All-Ireland medals and six Leinster medals but never played in a final? Could you lift the Sam Maguire cup? Who scored a penalty and saved one in the same game? Which player won nine All-Star awards? How many players were on each team for the first All-Ireland football final in 1887? All About Gaelic Football takes a detailed look at the history of football, the counties, the clubs, the winners, the trophies, Croke Park, the team colours, the songs, the best players, the rules and gives top tips for playing...all you could possibly ever know about Gaelic football.
Ireland’s Soccer Top 20 by Colm Keane
Paperback; 16.00 Euro / 19.99 USD / 10.00 UK; 192 pages [Add To Basket]
For the first time in history, this star-studded book profiles 20 of the greatest soccer legends drawn from both sides of the Irish border and traces the sport’s evolution in Ireland from the late 1930s to the present day. Among those featured are some of football’s greatest names – Johnny Giles, Roy Keane, George Best, Paul McGrath, Pat Jennings, Liam Brady, Derek Dougan, David O’Leary, Ronnie Whelan, Doon Givens and Frank Stapleton. The book also encompasses some of football’s greatest moments, among them the FA Cup and Championship successes, European triumphs and wonderful international campaigns.
Keano (Roy Keane): Portrait of a Hero by Stafford Hildred and Tim Ewbank
Hardback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 17.00 UK; 270 pages, with photos throughout [Add To Basket]
Roy Keane is one of the best, and most notorious, football (soccer) players in the world. This book is the story of a football genius, told by the people who have met him throughout his incredible career. Very much his own man, Keane has always courted controversy – his aggression on and off the pitch have kept him in the headlines for much of his life in football but, as this book shows, he is also an honourable man dedicated to doing the right thing by himself and others. This book is an uplifting testament to an awesome footballer and an infamous talent.
Full Bag of Chips: Ireland and the Triple Crown by Peter O’Reilly
Hardback, 20.00 Euro / 25.00 USD / 15.00 UK; 127 pages with photos throughout [Add To Basket]
'Once we beat England, the players knew they had the chance to be part of something really special. They knew that when Scotland came to town, [the Triple Crown] was there for the taking. We'd be playing for the full bag of chips.' Eddie O'Sullivan The definitive account of Ireland's first 'trophy' in 19 years, with analysis and anecdotes from the players and coaches, including the likes of Clive Woodward and Lawrence Dallaglio, on Ireland's historic victory over the world champions at Twickenham. O'Reilly also delves into the six previous Triple Crowns, revealing how, on the night of their decisive victory over Wales, three of the 1948 team spent a few hours under lock and key!
Belfast’s Unholy War by Alan Parkinson
Hardback; 40.00 Euro / 55.00 USD / 25.00 UK; 360 pages [Add To Basket]
So-called sectarian disturbances have been a constant feature of Belfast’s history, but probably the most concentrated outburst of violence occurred in the 1920s. Nearly 500 people lost their lives, thousands more were injured and considerable damage was inflicted upon the city’s commercial centre. Numerous incidents are recalled, as is the political setting of the time: the meetings of Michael Collins and Sir James Craig; the Belfast Boycott; the human tragedies that unfolded and the ultimate creation of a northern state.
Explanations of the conflict tend to centre on its alleged ‘pogrom’ nature and the suggestion of state collusion in several atrocities. This book challenges such one-dimensional interpretations of the violence
Clouds on My Windows: A Dublin Memoir by May O’Brien
Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 218 pages [Add To Basket]
May O'Brien was fifteen in 1947 when she started to work in Liberty Hall, the dark and down-at- heel union headquarters that sat brooding beside the river Liffey. Life was a struggle for May and her family, and she was glad to be able to contribute financially; she was glad, too, to find that she was appreciated in work. After her first three months in the job, as the book ends, she reflects that she's learnt a lot from her union colleagues since she entered Liberty Hall as an inmpressionable school leaver. An entertaining account of one woman's experience, it is also a valuable social document, revealing the realities of life for working-class women in the 1940s
Hero Town by Bryan MacMahon
Hardback; 20.00 Euro / 25.00 USD / 14.00 UK; 250 pages [Add To Basket]
Home to Peter Mulrooney, a 40-year-old, unmarried teacher, teetering on the edge of fulfilment, Hero Town lies in the middle of nowhere, the centre of everywhere. Its citizens quarrel, grovel and intrigue; succeed and fail in lovemaking. They adore stories and preserve the life of the imagination. They communicate in the shorthand of nerves. By straining his eyes Peter can see vaguely through cavity walls and windows. Fingers snap, the inhabitants spring to attention, they talk volubly, they shudder, shake, fall, round and round on the circular moving contraption of life. The publication of this posthumous novel reveals the celebrated Irish author as an inventive and innovative novelist.
The Irish Zorro: The Extraordinary Adventures of William Lamport (1615-1659) by Gerard Ronan
Hardback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 18.00 UK; 332 pages [Add To Basket]
In the Crypt of Heroes at Mexico City's Column of Independence sits a bust dedicated to the memory of William Lamport of Wexford. A local elementary school also bears his name, and his story is said to be the origin of the fictional icon, Zorro. Arrested for treason at 13, he was a pirate general at 14, and at the age of 19, played a crucial role in the Battle of Nordingen in 1634. He achieved a place at the court of Philip IV of Spain, but fled following a scandalous affair with a noblewoman. He was later charged with plotting a revolution in Mexico. This is his story. This volume relates how a child prodigy became a Mexican legend and the model for Zorro.
Celtic Inspirations by Lyn Webster Wilde
Hardback; 16.00 Euro / 19.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 160 pages, with full colour illustrations throughout [Add To Basket]
A beautiful collection of spiritual and meditative exercises, providing a fascinating insight into the mystery and beauty of the celtic imagination. The Celts were not only great warriors but also a deeply creative and mystical people. Today we especially appreciate their imaginative myth-making, their brilliant design and their profound sense of wonder and magic - three elements that combine in this beautiful and inspiring gift book. Celtic Inspirations captures the spirit of the Druids and Bards in a rich collection of poetic texts, spiritual insights and meditative exercises that concentrate on the universal truths of Celtic wisdom - as meaningful and helpful today as they were in the Dark Ages. We discover how to heal using plants, how to cast spells, and how to foretell the future by watching birds in flight; we learn the secrets of King Arthur's Knights and the truth about the Holy Grail. By stepping through the door of Celtic Wisdom with this beautiful and inspirational book, we are given a heartwarming and enlightening experience.
Sunday Miscellany edited by Marie Heaney
Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 290 pages [Add To Basket]
For thousands of listeners to RTE 1, Sunday morning means Sunday Miscellany. The programme's mix of 'music and musings' has evoked memories and provoked responses in its listeners for over thirty years. It is the mingling of the professional and the amateur that gives the radio programme its unique appeal and in Sunday Miscellany: A selection from 2003 and 2004, this pattern is maintained. Here you will find familiar and unfamiliar names writing on topics that range from the anecdotal to the factual, from the personal to the historical, from the humorous to the poignant. Sunday Miscellany: A selection from 2003 and 2004 will give listeners-turned-readers a chance to revisit the places, to recapture the memories, to relive the stories, to hear again those Sunday morning voices that came across the airways so fleetingly and memorably.
In Time of War: Ireland, Ulster and the Price of Neutrality 1939-45 by Robert Fisk
Trade Paperback; 30.00 Euro / 36.00 USD / 24.00 UK; 650 pages [Add To Basket]
First published in 1983 to outstanding reviews, this book remains the most detailed and reliable study of Ireland during the Second World War or the ‘Emergency’ as it was known in neutral Ireland.
Gregory Carr, Bookseller
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