Read Ireland Book Reviews
Issue 331
An Duchas agus an Domhan by Diarmuid O Giollain
Hardback; 39.00 Euro / 46.00 USD / 29.00 UK; 206 pages
This book introduces the field and the study of Irish-folklore to Irish-speakers. While the author's Locating Irish Folklore: Tradition, Modernity, Identity (2000) deals with the intellectual problem of the invention of a concept of folklore and its application in an Irish context, An Duchas agus an Domhan both describes in detail the rich traditional culture of the Gaeltacht to which folklorists applied their training and defines the field of folklore as a scholarly discourse. It is the first such book written primarily for an Irish readership and one of the very few in any language that considers both the nature of traditional society and the discourse of folklore together. It gives a thematic treatment of vernacular worlds - concentrating on 'time', 'place' and 'community' - and of their changing relationships with the widening horizons of the state, modernity and globalization. It is based on the 19th, 20th and 21st century evidence of folklore, anthropology, (auto)biographical literature and history.
Cad is bealoideas ann agus ca seasann se idir an duchas agus an domhan? Tuigtear de ghnath gur rud duchasach agus gur ghne thabhachtach de chuid na sochai traidisiunta e an bealoideas. Ach bhi caidreamh riamh ag an sochai thraidisiunta leis an saol lasmuigh: ni raibh si neamhspleach ar an stat, ar fhorsai eacnamula naisiunta agus idirnaisiunta, ar thiarnai talun, ar an eaglais, ar an gcultur leannta, ar ide-eolaiochtai polaitiula. Tugann an leabhar seo cur sios ar an gcultur saibhir traidisiunta ar chuir scolairi bealoidis suim ann agus tugann se sainmhiniu ar ghort sin an bhealoidis mar dhioscursa leinn. Pleann se go speisialta le tri theama ar leithligh: 'am', 'ait' agus 'pobal', agus trachtann se orthu i gcomhtheacs na sochai traidisiunta, leathnu an stait, teacht chun cinn na nua-aoise agus gearu an domhandaithe. Usaideann se fianaise on 19u, 20u agus 21u haois, agus on mbealoideas, on antraipeolaiocht, o (dhir)bheathaisneisi Gaeltachta agus on stair. Is e an chead bhunleabhar ar leann an bhealoidis as Gaeilge.
Into the Dark by Johnston Browne
Hardback; 24.00 Euro / 28.00 USD / 18.00 UK; [Add To Basket]
Johnston Brown was hailed by Martin Dillon as "the superb investigator who was central to bringing 'Mad Dog' Adair to justice." According to Dillon," ...the day [Brown] publishes the story of life in the RUC, from the troubled 1970s to the 1990s, a veil will be lifted from the undercover war ..." "Into the Dark" is that story. Johnston Brown served in the RUC for nearly 30 years. Recruited into the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) only two years into his service, he quickly established himself as a detective of outstanding ability. He was to lead the investigation into the murder of solicitor Pat Finucane, and it was he who was responsible for finally bringing Johnny Adair to book. Brown was, however, quickly to discover that he was up against another even more deadly enemy than the criminals he was pursuing: those sinister elements of RUC Special Branch who for reasons of their own were determined to thwart his success. Brown found to his cost that they would stop at nothing to do so. "Into the Dark" offers a gripping insight into life in the RUC: the day-to-day reality of policing the streets of West Belfast during the dark days of the PIRA hunger strike.
Roger Casement in Irish and World History edited by Mary E. Daly
Hardback; 30.00 Euro / 36.00 USD / 24.00 UK; 240 pages
This book examines the career of Sir Roger Casement, his work in the Congo and South America and in White Hall. It also discusses the Casement diaries and his subsequent trial. An appendix is included which reproduces reports on the authenticity of the famous diaries.
Up with the Times by Conor Brady
Hardback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 20.00 UK; 285 pages, with black-and-white photo insert [Add To Basket]
Conor Brady edited "The Irish Times" for sixteen years between 1986 and 2002. It was a period of extraordinary change, both in Ireland and in the wider world. This book reveals with intriguing detail, how the paper both managed and made the news during two turbulent decades. It tells of encounters, not all friendly, with politicians such as Charles Haughey, Dick Spring, Albert Reynolds (who sued the paper serially), John Hume, Mary Robinson, Bertie Ahern and many others. It describes the meticulous investigations - and sometimes the crises of decision making - that preceded pivotal stories including Bishop Casey, the X Case, the Lenihan tapes, the fall of Albert Reynolds and others. It addresses the personal and corporate tensions at the heart of Ireland's longest-established national newspaper, while providing close insights into the working of modern media, with an honest recognition of the good and bad that is contemporary journalism. "The Irish Times" has been at the centre of public life in Ireland for almost 150 years. It has been lauded as the mouthpiece of the establishment and decried as subversive of public order and morality. It has always been controversial. Conor Brady likens the job of editor of a national newspaper to being the driver of an express train: 'There is no time to dwell on the wonders of the landscape or the novelty of the events that have just passed by.' His account of editing "The Irish Times" is a frank and engaging journey to the heart of a great Irish institution.
That Day’s Struggle: A Memoir 1904-1951 by Sean MacBride
Hardback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 20.00 UK; 240 pages, with black-and-white photo insert
'I had to sit down and think for a couple of days afterwards, ask myself: are you prepared to face this; it's quite likely that you yourself will get killed in time. Are you really prepared to do this; if not, you better make up your mind, now, not to, or make up your mind to go ahead.' The son of Maud Gonne and and exceuted 1916 revolutionary Major John MacBride, Sean MacBride inherited his parents' revolutionary politics. In this fascinating memoir, he describes those early revolutionary years, bringing them to life with rare skill. MacBride became an anti-Treaty Republican and in the 1930s and 1940s, when he was chief of staff of the IRA, he argued for greater participation in constitutional politics. He founded Clann na Poblachta in 1946, which formed an important component of the inter-party government of 1948-51. A bitter dispute with Minister for Health, Noel Browne, lead to the collapse of the government and the virtual extinction of his party, which period concludes this terrific memoir.
Serving a City: The Story of Cork’s English Market by Diarmuid & Donal O’Drisceoil
Hardback; 30.00 Euro / 39.00 USD / 20.00 UK; 264 pages
This is the first history and description of Ireland's most famous food emporium, Cork's English Market. Many people have passed through its gates since its establishment in 1788. Though the products on sale now may be more cosmopolitan, the energy and essence of the market remains the same. This book traces the history and development of the market from its origins to the present day with historic and recent photographs, architectural plans, reproductions of paintings and other illustrations.
Roman Song by Brian Kennedy
Trade Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 11.00 UK; 366 pages [Add To Basket]
When Fergal Flynn’s remarkable singing talent is discovered by world-famous opera star Alfredo Moretti, the young man leaves his native Belfast and sets out for Rome, to train in opera. This new, sophisticated world is a far cry from working-class Belfast. But Fergal soon finds out that escaping from a troubled past is not just a matter of geography. If he is to unearth his true voice in this country of famous tenors, he must first get to grips with who he is, and where he comes from. Moving back in time to the glamour of 1950s Venice, Roman Song also tells the story of three leading lights of Tosca – Alfredo, Marla Davis and Brendan Fiscetti – and of Amelia, the beautiful widowed countess, whose entrance stage-left creates a bitter rift between the three companions. When, three decades on, Brendan stars at the Teatro where Fergal works backstage, Alfredo finds he’s not the only one running from his past . . . Roman Song is an enchanting and funny tale of coming to terms with your true self, and of how facing the past can open the door to the fulfilment of dreams.
The Vasectomy Doctor: A Memoir by Andrew Rynne
Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 11.00 UK; 184 pages [Add To Basket]
In 1990, Dr Andrew Rynne was shot by a man on whom he had carried out a vasectomy eight years previously. The Vasectomy Doctor begins with a description of that terrifying attempt on his life and ends with an explanation of why it might have happened. The book takes the reader through a life begun on a farm in Count Kildare, through Rynne's early education and medical training where he augmented his school fees by playing tin-whistle and singing traditional music (later touring with Christy Moore) and through his professional career where he was a tireless agitator for the liberalisation of birth control. Against all odds and in the face of opposition from both peers and clergy he tells of being the first doctor in Ireland to carry out a vasectomy (over the past 30 years he has carried out some 25,000 such operations) and highlights the challenges and joys he has experienced along the way.
The Winner of Sorrow by Brian Lynch
Trade Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 11.00 UK; 340 pages [Add To Basket]
William Cowper was the most famous poet of his day. Jane Austen was foremost among his fans, Wordsworth knew his work by heart and William Blake ranked him alongside Milton. But Cowper is all but forgotten today. Obsessed with God and suicide, loved by many women, his life was tragically cut short by the profound mental illness that dogged his every day. Yet despite the obsessions that made him a virtual recluse, William Cowper lived out a love-story as intense as any in English literature.
Brian Lynch, much like William Cowper, is a much-praised poet himselv. Now, in his first novel, Lynch has achieved an astonishing piece of fiction based on the life of this legendary English poet. The Winner of Sorrow brings to life a forgotten giant. Intense, exhilarating and masterful in its evocation of the period, this is literary fiction at its finest.
The Best Cartoons of Tom Mathews
Long Format Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 26.00 USD / 14.00 UK; unpaged [Add To Basket]
Tom Mathews is without doubt Ireland’s leading cartoonist. A cult figure of growing stature, his work is published weekly in the Irish Times The Sunday Independent and Hot Press. Now, for the first time, New Island presents this long-awaited collection: a career's worth of cartoons from a master of the genre. Tom Mathews was born in Dublin in 1952. He studied Fine Art at NCAD, since leaving which in 1974 he has worked as freelance writer and cartoonist. His work appears weekly in The Irish Times and the Sunday Independent as well as in Cara Magazine, HotPress and sundry others. He has had sixteen one-man shows to date including three exhibitions of paintings. His paintings have also featured in the Living Art and RHA. His cartoons are in many private and public, national and international collections. He has illustrated a dozen books as well as designing magazine covers, record sleeves, posters, T-shirts, hoardings and postcards.
Finding My Irish by Sharon Shea Bossard
Paperback; 16.00 Euro / 20.00 USD / 11.00 UK; 304 pages [Add To Basket]
A letter mailed from Valentia Island, County Kerry, Ireland, in 1949 provides an important link that connects family in America to cousins in Ireland. Extensive research through archival records in Dublin as well as vital information gathered in America furnishes the author and her husband with the information necessary to locate the villages, townlands, cemeteries, and parishes of her great-grandparents. Centuries-old family cottages are located and “treasures” are revealed. Secrets are uncovered and attached to those secrets are heartbreaking accounts of lives rife with hardships, unhappiness, and fierce family pride.
Join the author and her husband as they journey through the towns of Cahersiveen, Ballinskelligs, Valentia, and Boyle in their relentless pursuit of family. Accompany them into the old cottages for conversations rich in folklore and truths. Follow in the footsteps of the author’s grandparents from Ireland to Connecticut and to the cowboy town of South Omaha in the late 1800s. Travel to the more modern city of Chicago at the turn of the century. Experience their lives first-hand—celebrate their joy and share in their sorrows. Guaranteed to capture your spirit and challenge your emotions, this 304-page book titled Finding My Irish will delight and hopefully inspire you to search for your Irish. An incredibly touching family story; you won’t be able to put it down.
Gregory Carr, Bookseller
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