Read Ireland Book Reviews
Issue 337
A Farewell to Arms?: Beyond the Good Friday Agreement 2nd edition by Michael Cox, Adrian Guelke and Fiona Stephen
Large Paperback; 30.00 Euro / 36.00 USD / 20.00 UK; 546 pages
The signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 appeared to open up a new phase in the history of Northern Ireland and indeed world politics generally. Hailed from the outset as a model that would inspire peace processes in other countries, it sought through careful negotiation and delicate compromise to bring to a conclusion a conflict that had cost over 3600 lives, damaged Britain's international position and at times come very close to undermining relations between the UK and Ireland. While the peace has held it is obvious that serious divisions continue to make a final settlement of the Northern Irish question very difficult. This comprehensive and original study is the first to explain in detail how the Good Friday Agreement ran into trouble, why we are still some way from a final settlement, but why a return to war is most unlikely - even in an age where global terror now threatens world order more seriously than at any time in the past.
Staging the Easter Rising: 1916 as Theatre by James Moran
Hardback; 40.00 Euro / 50.00 USD / 27.00 UK; 170 pages [Add To Basket]
An exciting new interpretation of 1916 as theatre and its later representation on the stage, with a particular focus on gender. This is the most original exploration of representations of the 1916 Rising since William Irwin Thompson's 1967 classic, "The Imagination of an Insurrection". It offers new insights into the studied theatricality of the rising, in the context of plays by Pearse and MacDonagh and a rediscovered play of Connolly's, "Under Which Flag?" The book argues that the Rising set out to proclaim sexual equality as well as political independence, but that, while the myth of 1916 became central to Irish political and cultural life, the rebels' radical ideas about gender were ignored. New readings and contexts are provided for O'Casey's, "The Plough and the Stars", and for Yeats', "The Dreaming of the Bones". The role of de Valera in the shaping of official commemoration is assessed, while the intervention of Shaw throws new light on the Casement controversy. Surveying representations of the Rising in more recent Irish theatre, especially since the 1966 commemoration, the author shows how gender issues have resurfaced.
Beckett’s Dantes: Intertextuality in the Fiction and Critisim by Daniela Caselli
Hardback; 80.00 Euro / 100.00 USD / 50 UK; 230 pages
This is the first study in English of the relationship between Beckett and Dante An original and informative intertextual reading of Beckett's work, detecting previously unknown quotations, allusions to and parodies of Dante Interprets for the first time in Beckett studies Dante in the original Italian - translates all Italian quotations into English, and looks at Beckett's published works in English and French, and manuscripts in English, French, German and Italian Uses Beckett & Dante to argue that intertextuality can teach us much about the way the Beckett canon works, and that such intertexts make us rethink many ideas about literary relations and authority Theoretical but jargon-free
Holy Cross: A Personal Experience by Aidan Troy
Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 11.00 UK; 228 pages [Add To Basket]
During the thirty years of troubles in the North of Ireland, there are but a handful of people who have become symbols of true courage. Fr Aidan Troy is one of these. Although he knew little of the North, within months of his arrival in the Catholic Ardoyne community, he had witnessed one of the most disturbing incidents in the North's recent history. Young children, going to and from Holy Cross primary school, were subjected to some of the most shameful sectarian hatred and violence. Protestors taunted the children, their parents and teachers with comments about 'Fenian whores', as well as displaying pornographic posters, throwing balloon bombs containing urine and even pipe bombs. This insider account of those shocking weeks does not make for easy reading. Nor does Fr Troy attempt to offer simplistic solutions, focusing instead on his unshaking belief throughout, that the rights of the children must be paramount.
Hurler on the Ditch by Michael Mills
Paperback; 14.00 Euro / 17.50 USD / 10.50 UK; 176 pages
Michael Mills was Ireland's first Ombudsman and held the post from 1984 to 1995. During that time he became acquainted at first hand with many of the problems of older people in regard to failure to obtain particular benefits to delays in dealing with their queries and the failure of many public servants to appreciate the difficulties faced by elderly people in dealing with bureaucracy. Although some reforms have been put in place, he still considers that there is a great need for an ongoing and constant effort to secure the rights of elderly citizens. For most of his life, he worked as a journalist and broadcaster on matters of political interest. He was political correspondent of The Irish Press for some twenty years, during which time he wrote about the Arms Crisis, which is covered here in some detail, Sean Lemaa, Jack Lynch and the rise of Charles J. Haughey. He was also one of the first panelists on the television programme 'The Hurler on the Ditch', which could claim through its pressure on the political parties to have succeeded in making a breakthrough in government policy in relation to the amount of annual increases in social welfare spending.
The Sporting Eye by Fionnbar Callanan
Hardback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 20.00 UK; 140 pages
For fifty years Fionnbar Callanan has viewed the sporting and wider world through the lens of a camera. His obsession with sporting events and sporting people has brought him both around the world and to the end of his street. World record holders and some who may well be running still have all on occasion caught his eye. As an international athlete, Fionnbar came to recognise the seminal moments that mark out the career of all sportsmen and women. Through his camera, he continued to share in these moments long past the end of his own athletic career. In time, he came to recognise and capture exceptional moments and people in the non-sporting world.
Broken Rails: Crashes and Sabotage on Irish Railways by Brian Mac Aongusa
Hardback; 20.00 Euro / 25.00 USD / 14.00 UK; 254 pages, with black-and-white photos throughout [Add To Basket]
Railway accidents have had a strange fascination for many people for generations. No matter how slight the damage caused or how few casualties are involved, the very fact that a train leaves the railway tracks and ploughs ahead uncontrolled by any guiding rails, fills the imagination with awe and wonder. Sensational headlines appear and people want to know what awful consequences followed, how much worse the accident could have been and, more importantly, why it happened in the first place. Frequently, human frailty is the cause but, as revealed in this book, there are often less obvious reasons. Fatigue, intrigue, overwork, carelessness, stubborn animals, the elements or even the longings of the heart have caused accidents on the railways of Ireland. The selection of crashes and mishaps featured in this book provides a unique insight not only to railway working in Ireland over the past century and a half, but also to the fortitude and ingenuity of Irish people when confronted with unexpected difficulties. The accidents described in the following pages include tragedies such as the Armagh, Curraduff, Cahir and Buttevant disasters; politically-inspired mishaps such as those of the Civil War in Cork and Wexford, or the Sallins Mail Train Robbery; 'acts of God' like those of the Owencarrow Viaduct disaster in Donegal; and lesser known incidents caused by wind, snow, goats, a steam-roller or a love tryst. All have one common feature in that the trains involved came to a sudden and unexpected stop and this led to stories that make for interesting and often fascinating reading.
Nine: Ireland’s Greatest Cheltenham 2005 by Justin Doyle
Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 11.00 UK; 104 pages, with an 8-page full-colour insert [Add To Basket]
This book tells the full story of Ireland’s Greatest Cheltenham in history. It recalls the races won and reveals the stories behind the scenes. It covers the exciting build-up to Cheltenham: the tips and the ‘Bismarks’, the extraordinary amount of non-runners that caused carnage to punters and brought glee to bookmakers in the ante-post markets and all the various big bets won and lost at the Festival! A comprehensive list of all Irish winners at Cheltenham since 1911 is also included in the statistics section.
Ireland: Space, Text, Time edited by Liam Harte et. al.
Trade Paperback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 20.00 UK; 247 pages [Add To Basket]
The central concern of "Ireland: Space, Text, Time" is to explore the diverse ways in which discourses of time, space and textuality have shaped historical and contemporary understandings of the relationship between place and identity in Irish culture, both at home and abroad. Taking its cue from the prevalence of metaphors of space and time in literary, academic and popular discourses of identity, the book investigates the material embodiments of these constructs in a range of cultural practices and phenomena, from novels and films to buildings and monuments. The shaping influence of certain key historical figures is also considered, and due emphasis is given to the dialogical relationship between cultural developments in Ireland and those in the wider Irish diaspora. The volume as a whole is underpinned by a commitment to the use of interdisciplinary perspectives and approaches in the study of Irish culture and society. As the debate about the benefits of interdisciplinarity within the plural field of Irish Studies continues to simmer, "Ireland: Space, Text, Time" aims to demonstrate the practical ways in which scholars from different disciplines can fruitfully contribute to a multivalent discussion of the significance of particular forces and themes in Irish culture.
Parnell: The Uncrowned King of Ireland by Katherine O’Shea
Trade Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 25.00 USA / 14.00 UK; 288 pages [Add To Basket]
Giving a different perspective on 'The Uncrowned King of Ireland', and his downfall, O' Shea's account was first published in 1914. Her early life is covered, as is her marriage to Captain O' Shea. Her life with Parnell is described in a personal and touching way, with many letters and discussions between them covered in depth.
The Celtic Gods: Comets in Irish Mythology by Patrick McCafferty and Mike Baillie
Large Paperback; 24.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 16.00 UK; 224 pages, with 75 illustrations. [Add To Basket]
The Celtic myths, involving heroic warriors such as Finn and CuChulinn, can be read as simple primitive stories, but closer examination reveals strange descriptions and relationships. The authors of this ground-breaking book argue that all the principal characters are aspects of the one Celtic sky god, Lugh, who was a comet. Against the background of a comet scenario this re-interpretation of about ten key Celtic myths shows how many of the descriptions in the myths fit the appearance of comets. The fact that these comets on occasions produced abrupt environmental changes, that can be traced in the tree-ring and ice-core chronologies, pins the stories to a central reality. With a novel twist this original book confirms the widespread belief that these stories must contain a 'core of truth'.
Lucia Joyce: To Dance in the Wake by Carol Loeb Schloss
Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 11.00 UK; 560 pages [Add To Basket]
Whatever spark or gift I possess has been transmitted to Lucia and it has kindled a fire in her brain" James Joyce, 1934 Most accounts of James Joyce's family portray Lucia Joyce as the mad daughter of a man of genius, a difficult burden. But Carol Loeb Shloss reveals a different and more dramatic truth: Joyce loved Lucia and they shared a deep creative bond. Lucia was born in a pauper's hospital and educated haphazardly across Europe as her penniless father pursued his art. She wanted to strike out on her own and in her twenties emerged, to Joyce's amazement, as a harbinger of expressive modern dance in Paris. Lucia was a child of the imaginative realms her father created, and even after emotional turmoil wrought havoc with her and she was hospitalised in the 1930s he saw in her a life lived in tandem with his own. Though most of the documents about Lucia have been destroyed, in this important book Shloss painstakingly reconstructs the poignant complexities of her life.
The Petrie Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland edited by David Cooper
Trade Paperback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 20.00 UK; 300 pages [Add To Basket]
A new edition of Petrie’s classic Ancient Music of Ireland, incorporating a biographical essay on Petrie and a revised catalogue of melodies cross-referenced with other major collections. First published in 1855, George Petrie’s The Petrie Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland is widely regarded as one of the most important nineteenth-century collections of traditional Irish music. It contains nearly two hundred melodies collected by Petrie as well as song texts in Irish and English and detailed notes by Petrie about their sources. This new edition contains all of Petrie’s original text, the melodies and his introduction. The text is prefaced with an illuminating biographical essay, which positions the collection in the context of Petrie’s life and work, and within the broader field of Irish traditional music. Cooper’s new edition also contains a completely reset version of the text in which the Irish spelling has been modernised and a standard font adopted. The new edition of this book will form an invaluable addition to the bookshelves of both students and performers of Irish traditional music.
Patrick Pearse: The Triumph of Failure by Ruth Dudley Edwards
Trade Paperback; 27.00 Euro / 35.00 USD / 20.00 UK; 350 pages [Add To Basket]
There has always been argument about whether Pearse's leadership of the Easter Rising in 1916 represented a failure or a triumph. Pearse, who found himself on Easter Monday proclaimed President of the Provisional Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the Republic, took on himself the most bitter of roles at the finish: he was the first to make the move to surrender - and he was the first to be executed. In this re-issued major biography, Ruth Dudley Edwards has placed Patrick Pearse in his historical, political and cultural context: she discusses his involvement with the Gaelic League, his role as a military leader in the nationalist movement and his claims as a socialist. Her account of his life does full justice to the story, recording its irony, absurdity and courage. This book will do much to arouse fresh interest in Patrick Pearse; it is sympathetic, balanced, meticulously researched, and above all highly readable.
Sean O’Casey: Writer at Work by Christopher Murray
Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00 USD / 10.00 UK [Add To Basket]
Christopher Murray's definitive study of O'Casey, the last of the great writers of the Irish literary revival, provides a strong interpretative context for the life. He looks afresh at the Dublin of the 1880s and 1890s in order to provide an authoritative background to O'Casey's childhood. He pays a great deal of attention to the political situation from 1880 to 1922, setting it against O'Casey's own treatment in his autobiographies. In general he attempts to establish 'O'Casey's Ireland'.
Rich in original material, Murray's biography reconstructs a life committed to writing itself as a moral endeavour. There was something profoundly religious in O'Casey's psyche, which was at war with the communism he embraced, just as there was something profoundly romantic in a sensibility that retained the image of his first love all through his years in exile. He was a man of many contradictions, a complex, combative public figure and yet a warm and intimate family man.
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