Read Ireland Book Reviews
Issue 329
Policing Northern Ireland: Conflict, legitimacy and reform By Aogán Mulcahy (University College Dublin)
Paperback €27.50 / £17.99 / US$33.50
This important new book examines the issue of police legitimacy in Northern Ireland. Against the backdrop of political division and paramilitary violence, it analyses the means by which the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) sought the support of the communities most antagonistic to it – nationalists and republicans – and considers their responses to these various reform measures. The book traces the development of these issues across three distinct time-periods: the years of overt conflict (1968-94); the subsequent ceasefire period (1994-98); and the reform programme arising from the Patten Report and the transformation of the RUC into the Police Service of Northern Ireland (1998-2005). It asks key questions about the nature and impact of police efforts to secure the support of nationalists and republicans: · what was the nature and rationale of the reform strategies implemented by the RUC? · how has the RUC portrayed itself in the positive terms that might secure public support? · how have nationalists responded to these initiatives? · what was the nature of the reform programme outlined in the 1999 Patten Report? · what impact has the establishment of the PSNI and the ongoing reform programme had on police-community relations? The book also makes a powerful contribution to wider current debates about police legitimacy in divided societies, police-community relations, resistance narratives, and the relationship between police reform and conflict resolution. Also available in hardback €60.00 / £40.00 / US$75.00
Atlas of Cork City edited by J. S. Crowley et. al
Hardback; 60.00 Euro / 80.00 USD / 45.00 UK; 480 pages, with full colour and black-and-white photos throughout [Add To Basket]
A unique project, marking Cork's designation as European Capital of Culture in 2005, the Atlas provides the reader with a range of perspectives on the city and its development over time. It is not an atlas in the conventional sense, as it is not solely reliant on maps, though there are many of these, both historical and specially commissioned for the volume. The initial chapters place the city in its environmental setting. Subsequent chapters trace its physical and cultural development over time. With over fifty contributors from a wide range of disciplines offering forty chapters and a fascinating series of case studies, the range is remarkable and the topics covered often surprising. Over 200 maps cover everything from geology, through evolving street patterns, to the distribution of G.A.A. clubs. Given its significant maritime heritage, Cork has been shaped by both external and internal influences, and the cityscape bears the imprint of the various peoples who have lived and settled there. Not one story then, but a myriad of stories, some better known than others, but all contributing to the making and remaking of the city. It has been a city continually in transition and the atlas also provides its readers, and planners with an opportunity to reflect in a more informed way on its future development.
Lady Gregory: An Irish Life by Judith Hill
Hardback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 19.00 UK; 400 pages with an 8-page black-and-white photo insert
She was the most complicated woman I can think of ...Very calculating, dutiful, courageous, purposeful, and all built upon a bedrock of humour and love of fun and a bitter sarcasm with a vein of simple coarseness of thought and simple inherited Protestantism.' This new biography of Lady Gregory (1852-1932) removes her from the shadow of the more famous Yeats (she wrote almost entirely the great Abbey Theatre hit Cathleen ni Houlihan, but let Yeats take the credit), and uncovers for the first time the full life of this key figure of the Irish Literary Revival. A founder of the now world-famous Abbey Theatre, she had a profound influence on Yeats and other writers including Henry James and Anthony Trollope. She herself wrote 42 plays, as well as a biography, essays, stories, poems, and an autobiography. Married to a man twice her age, she had an extra-marital affair with the poet and anti-Imperialist Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and at 60, a brief romance with the New York lawyer and art patron John Quinn. Placing Gregory securely into the Ireland of her time, the author shows how Lady Gregory's Nationalism in politics and literature fundamentally shaped her life and work.
Tony O’Malley: An Irish Artist in Cornwall by David Whitakker
Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 26.00 USD / 13.00 UK; 100 pages, with illustrations throughout [Add To Basket]
Tony O'Malley (1913-2003) is one of Ireland's foremost painters of the last 50 years. Born in Callan, County Kilkenny, he was a late starter and learned his art surreptitiously while working as a bank clerk all over Ireland for 25 years. In 1955 he visited St Ives in Cornwall on a painting holiday. He was astonished to find a thriving and diverse artistic community there, made up of some of the leading names in the history of British art including Barbara Hepworth, Peter Lanyon, Bryan Wynter, Patrick Heron, Terry Frost, Bernard Leach and the poet W. S. Graham. O'Malley moved there in 1960 and stayed for 30 years. It was a Celtic country where he felt at home and was the perfect environment for his art to develop. He also met and married the Canadian painter Jane Harris. This book chronicles those tremendously creative Cornish years with a record of the friendships he struck up and the places he worked, tracing how O'Malley's art developed into his unique and distinctive style. Also included is a lengthy and entertaining account, by O'Malley himself, of his early years growing up in County Kilkenny. The book has 56 illustrations (16 in colour), most of which have never been published before.
The Islands of Ireland by Nutan
Large Format Hardback; 28.00 Euro / 34.00 USD / 20.00 UK;
A beautifully photographed, revelatory tour of nearly twenty of Ireland's remotest Islands, by leading Irish photojournalist Nutan.
Without Fear: 25 Years of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre by Susan McKay
Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 300 pages
ESTABLISHED IN 1979, THE DUBLIN RAPE CRISIS CENTRE IS A VOLUNTARY ORGANISATION WHICH PROVIDES COMPREHENSIVE THERAPY PROGRAMME FOR VICTIMS OF RAPE AND SEXUAL ABUSE. Susan McKay's history of the center and attitudes to rape in Ireland coincides with the 25th anniversary of the center, and seeks to bring the center and the issue of rape in Ireland back onto the agenda. In 1998 Susan McKay published Sophia's Story, told by Sophia it recounts the harrowing truth of how it was to be a daughter of Joseph McColgan.
Susan McKay is the northern editor of the Sunday Tribune. Awards for her work include Print Journalist of the Year 2000, Feature Writer of the Year 2002 and in 2001 she won the Amnesty International Print Journalism Award for Ireland. Her bestselling book Northern Protestants: An Unsettled People has been critically acclaimed. She is a regular contributor to TV and radio north and south of the border .
The Legends of Irish Rugby by John Scally
Hardback; 22.00 Euro / 27.00 USD / 17.00 UK; 270 pages, with 8-page black-and-white photo insert [Add To Basket]
Immortals such as Jack Kyle, Willie John McBride, Tony Ward, Brian O'Driscoll, Gordon D'Arcy, and Paul O'Connell bare their souls to reveal men of vision, passion, and dedication - men who, through their glories, disappointments and dramatic deeds, have inspired others to realise their dreams. In this engrossing and entertaining account of the bitter-sweet history of Irish rugby, these powerful personalities offer startling insights into some of the most controversial moments of Irish rugby, from the assault on Ronan O'Gara, during the 2001 Lions tour to the sacking of Gary Ella as Leinster coach, and express their opinions on the most important issues facing the game today: from Brian O'Driscoll's hair to the role of the coach and the future of the game itself. Their take on the times is often as comical as it is insightful. Irish rugby has produced many extraordinary characters and left us all with a treasure trove of funny stories, most of which are recalled in this book, including Peter Clohessy's visit to the dentist and his Frank Sinatra impression; the curious incident of Mick Galwey's shorts; Geordan Murphy's unique insights into Austin Healey's recreational activities; Victor Costello's experience of crime and punishment; Keith Wood's tall tales and much, much more. Compelling, informative and above all humorous...
The New Hennessy Book of Irish Fiction edited by Dermot Bolger and Ciaran Carty
Trade Paperback with endflaps; 15.00 Euro / 18.50 USD / 10.00 UK; 200 pages [Add To Basket]
For the past 35 years the Hennessy Literary Awards have proved a vital launching pad for many of the most exciting writers in Ireland today. Initially founded and edited by David Marcus, the New Irish Writing page now appears monthly in The Sunday Tribune.
Writers like Joseph O'Connor, Colum McCann and Marina Carr spoke to us for the very first time through these pages, edited for the past seventeen years by Ciaran Carty.
Now The New Hennessy Book of Irish Fiction brings you the editors' personal selection of stories from the last ten years of these prestigious awards; some were winners in their years, others were runners-up. From Blainaid McKinney's IRA informer to Claire Keegan's Irish au-pair, from June Considine's story of marriage and betrayal to Kieran Byrne's thief with the Marty Feldman eyes, this startling collection showcases a vibrant explosion of new Irish writers.
Edited by Ciaran Carty and Dermot Bolger, and with stories by such recent successes like Noelle Harrison, Paul Perry and Karen Gillece, The New Hennessy Book of Irish Fiction takes us back to the thrilling beginnings of some of our best emerging writers.
Recollections of 1916 and Its Aftermath by Jane O’Hara O’Keeffe
Paperback; 16.00 Euro / 20.00 USD / 11.50 UK; 100 pages, with photos throughout and an audio CD [Add To Basket]
This collection of interviews captures the atmosphere of the revolutionary period in Ireland. The interviewees are great storytellers, recalling incidents that impacted on then young minds and imaginations.
Nothing Simple by Lia Mills
Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 395 pages [Add To Basket]
When Ray left Ireland to follow Dermot to America, she had her doubts about moving. But Dermot convinced her it was where their future lay and she was too young and too much in love to fight. So they settled in a hot and murky Texan suburb where nothing turned out to be quite what it seemed. Now, ten years and four children later, recession has hit Texas, Dermot's career like their marriage has stalled, and he says that the family has to move back to Dublin. But Ray's not so sure that she can trust her husband's judgement any more. Then, as they get ready to leave, their daughter disappears. In the desperate hours that follow, Ray tries to figure out how she's ended up with a life that's only beginning to make sense now that everything in it is under threat.
As Others Saw Us: Cork Through European Eyes edited by Joachim Fisher and Grace Neville
Trade Paperback; 18.00 Euro / 24.00 USD / 12.00 UK; 427 pages [Add To Basket]
This anthology contains views and opinions by continental writers about Cork from medieval times to the present. The varied texts include excerpts from travel books, essays, newspaper articles and memoirs. Each piece has a brief introduction about its author and the context in which it was written. The foreign language is on the left hand page and the English translation opposite. Designed to appeal to the general rather than specialist reader, the excerpts are short and from the widest variety of viewpoints.
Pocket Rocket: Don’t Quit: The Autobiography of Wayne McCullough
Trade Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 240 pages [Add To Basket]
When, in 2000, following an annual MRI scan, Wayne McCullough was diagnosed as having a cyst on his brain and told he might never box again, he began the longest struggle of his controversial career. The BBBC withheld his licence to fight in the UK, then, just when it seemed he would never box in Britain again, the decision was reversed. He returned to his beloved Belfast in 2002 to defeat Russian Nikolai Eremeev in a dramatic fourth-round victory. From his early life on the Shankill Road to training with the great Eddie Futch in Las Vegas, "Pocket Rocket: Don't Quit!" details the ups and downs of McCullough's life as a world champion boxer and as an ambassador for his sport and his country. Raised during Northern Ireland's troubles in one of Belfast's toughest areas, McCullough chose to use his fists in the ring. In 1995, he finally achieved his dream when he was crowned WBC bantamweight world champion, beating Yasuei Yakushiji in Nagoya, Japan. Bringing a gentleness to an often gruesome sport, "Pocket Rocket: Don't Quit!" is an honest account of Wayne McCullough's life in his own words.
In Time of War: Ireland, Ulster and The Price of Neutrality, 1939-45 by Robert Fisk
Paperback; 30.00 Euro / 36.00 USD / 24.00 UK; 650 pages [Add To Basket]
When the Union Jack was hauled down over the Atlantic naval ports of Cobh, Berehaven and Lough Swilly in 1939, the Irish were jubilant. But in London, Churchhill brooded on the 'incomprehensible' act of surrendering three of the Royal Navy's finest ports when Europe was about to go to war. Eighteen months later, Churchill was talking of military action against Ireland. He demanded the return of the ports and the Irish made ready to defend their country against British, as well as German invasion. In Northern Ireland, a Unionist Government vainly tried to introduce conscription. Along the west coast British submarines prowled the seas searching for German U-boats sheltering in the bays; British agents toured the villages of Donegal in search of fifth columnists, while their German counterparts tried to make contact with the IRA. This is a fascinating study of Ireland during the Second World War. "Anybody interested in Irish affairs will have to get Fisk's book." - "Literary Review".
Gregory Carr, Bookseller
Read Ireland
392 Clontarf Road
Dublin 3
Ireland
Tel + Fax: +353-1-853-2063
Customer Services Comments, Criticism and Questions
Subscribe to Read Ireland Book News - Our Free Weekly Email Newsletter