Read Ireland Book Reviews
Issue 427
Irish Biographies, Memoirs, etc.s
Even on Days when it Rains by Julia O’Donnell
Paperback; 10 Euro / 14 USD / 7 UK; 312 pages
Irish singing star Daniel O'Donnell's mother, Julia, grew up on a remote island off the northwest coast of Ireland, going barefoot and doing hard labour as a child during the poverty-stricken 1920s. The hard work continued through her teenage years as she picked potatoes in the fields and travelled to Scotland to gut fish in the ports. After she married, Julia's beloved husband, Francie, was forced to work away from home for months on end. Physically demanding, the work eventually took its toll and Julia found herself widowed and penniless with five children while still in her forties. In this classic and inspiring story of triumph over adversity, Julia tells how she battled through this dark period by knitting sweaters into the early hours of the morning to support her family.Then, in an amazing twist of fate, this hard-working woman and dedicated mother watched from the wings as her offspring flourished. Her daughter Margaret and son Daniel went on to achieve fame and fortune as chart-topping singers.
Six New Poetry Books From Gallery Press, Ireland’s Premier Poetry Publisher:
Scars That Run Deep by Patrick Touher
Paperback; 10 Euro / 14 USD / 7 UK; 288 pages [Add To Basket]
Leaving his abusive Irish boarding school after eight long years, Patrick Touher thought his troubles were over. But the adult world was a dangerous place for a naive adolescent. From the Dublin Catholic boys' home to arriving alone in London, again Patrick is seen as easy prey. Yet Patrick's strength, honesty and sense of humour never left him. The boy they couldn't break, fought back, and eventually found love and a family. But the shadow of his early years was always with him. With the encouragement of his wife - a constant witness to his traumatic nightmares - Patrick set about taking the Christian Brother to task. The eagerly awaited sequel to bestseller "Fear of the Collar" that doesn't disappoint, "Scars that Run Deep" is a deeply moving and ultimately triumphant true story.
In Harm’s Way by Sean Hogan
Paperback; 9 Euro / 14 USD / 7 UK; 428 pages
The extraordinary true story of a childhood of neglect and sexual abuse at Dublin’s Artane Industrial School, In Harm's Way is the poignant tale of a childhood lost, and of a life reclaimed. 'I don't feel sorry for myself. Today everything is all right. I look at it is this way, it can't ever be as bad as it was then...'. Sean Hogan was just eight years old when he was confined in the notorious Artane Industrial School under the brutal regime of the Christian Brothers. In and out of care throughout his childhood, Sean was so badly neglected by his alcoholic parents that he never even knew what day his birthday fell on, or how old he was - things he only learned as an adult. But when he arrived at Artane, instead of receiving the care he so desperately needed, he entered into months of horrific sexual abuse at the hands of some of the brothers. Now, for the first time, he feels able to tell his story - and reveal the devastating truth of what really happened in Ireland's industrial schools. "In Harm's Way" is a powerful and moving story of astonishing hardship and near despair, but also of triumph over terrible adversity.
Chairman of the Boards, Master of the Mile by Eamonn Coghlan
Large Format Trade Paperback; 17 Euro / 24 USD / 12 UK; 266 pages, with black-and-white photos throughout [Add To Basket]
From humble beginnings running the streets of Dublin, and throughout his career, Eamonn Couglan has graced race tracks across the globe in pursuit of a single ambition – to be the best. Along the way he punished himself physically and mentally to achieve his goal – to become champion of the world – while twice experiencing the bitter taste of Olympic failure – a failure that continues to hurt. In this remarkably candid journey through his life, he recalls the joys of success, the deep love of his wife and family and the extraordinary relationships he forged enroute to becoming one of Ireland’s greatest sporting heroes.
Hear My Silence: Surviving Depression by Karina Colgan
Paperback; 13 Euro / 18 USD / 9 UK; 320 pages
Dublin journalist Karina Colgan was rescued from the apartment she had barricaded herself into by her estranged husband Gerry and son Karl, who feared for her life. Karina like one in four people in Ireland found herself unexpectedly fighting depression and for a long time did not know how to win the battle. Unable to cope on her own, Karina had spent months in bed hiding from the mounting problems, which had seen her once-successful life shatter into pieces. Here she writes openly and honestly about the family home burning down; the failure of her business, subsequent debt and betrayal; the discovery that her deceased baby son Glen's organs had been retained without her permission; and the breakdown of her 22-year relationship, among other things, all combined to send her to the deep, dark pits of chronic depression, culminating in a serious car crash which she was lucky to survive. But this is just the opening chapter of Karina's book, which goes on to tell the stories of some of the 400,000 people women and men, old and young, including young children in Ireland who suffer from depression, and separates the myths from the facts. The book also includes practical advice from professionals for sufferers and their families on how best they can recognise and cope with this debilitating illness. Karina also writes of the stigma still surrounding this illness, often at the expense of a sufferer seeking help, and calls for greater resources to be put into providing care and treatment for those affected by it and into education for those who are not. This is a story of survival of the human spirit. Even when every day is a battle for survival, there is hope at the end of the tunnel.
Hush Little Baby by Shane Dunphy
Large Format Trade Paperback; 15 Euro / 22 USD / 11 UK; 240 pages [Add To Basket]
"Hush, Little Baby" will open your eyes to the daily struggle faced by young victims of cruelty, abuse and neglect, as they fight to overcome the psychological effects of their shattered childhoods. Deeply moving and equally harrowing, once you start reading, you won't be able to stop...
Once a Brother: An Irish Christian Brother’s Story by Patrick C. Power
Hardback; 12 Euro / 18 USD / 9 UK; 256 pages [Add To Basket]
This book is the autobiography of a former Irish Christian Brother who spent eleven years training and teaching as a member of the order at a time when they dominated the education scene in the cities and towns of Ireland. The author joined the Irish Christian Brothers as a naïve youngster of just fourteen and left at twenty-five. During these years he was not allowed home to see his family except for a brief visit of just six days after he had been a member for five years. In the training houses he was not allowed to read newspapers, listen to the radio or go out alone. Behind these prohibitions he was indoctrinated as a member of the religious order that played such a major part in the education of so many Irishmen. Eventually, in the last three years of his time as a Brother, he decides to leave. When he leaves he returns to a society that he does not know nor understand.
Jasper Wolfe of Skiddereen by Jasper Ungoed-Thomas
Hardback; 23 Euro / 30 USD / 15 UK; 280 pages, with black-and-white photos throughout [Add To Basket]
Stories are still told about Jasper Wolfe in West Cork. Born a Methodist in 1872, he attended Catholic school, was apprenticed as a solicitor, came first in the Law Finals and established a successful legal practice. It was soon said he had all West Cork for a client . A strong supporter of Home Rule he gave an acclaimed speech at a huge rally in London in 1912 to launch the Southern Protestant Home Rule movement. After Easter 1916 he was appointed Crown Solicitor for the City and West Riding of Cork. He put the Crown case at the inquest into the murder of the Republican Lord Mayor of Cork, Tomás MacCurtain, and was soon a top target for the IRA. Three times sentenced to death, he was twice rescued by a Catholic priest, and twice had to flee the country. After the Civil War Jasper put old quarrels behind him and made a name as a defence lawyer for dissident Republicans. In 1927 he was elected to the Dáil, helped save the government from defeat by Fianna Fáil, and topped the poll in his second general election. He retired from politics in 1933. Admired in legal circles, he became President of the Law Society of Ireland in 1940, the first from Cork. Jasper was clever, convivial and hard-drinking. Personally fearless, he was cherished for the stories his exploits generated. More seriously, he stood for an Ireland at peace and at ease with itself. Seán O Faoláin wrote: Wolfe and men like him are modern Ireland. It has made them and they have made it. He is an epitome of the natural unity of Irish Life.
God’s Executioner: Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland by Micheal O Siochru
Large Format Trade Paperback; 17 Euro / 24 USD / 12 UK; 310 pages, with an 8-page full colour photograph insert [Add To Basket]
Cromwell spent only nine months of his eventful life in Ireland, yet he stands accused there of war crimes, religious persecution and ethnic cleansing. The massacre of thousands of soldiers and civilians by the New Model Army at both Drogheda and Wexford in 1649 must rank among the greatest atrocities in Anglo-Irish history: a tale that makes decidedly uncomfortable reading for those keen to focus on Cromwell's undoubted military and political achievements elsewhere. In a century of unrelenting, bloody warfare and religious persecution throughout Europe, Cromwell was, in many ways, a product of his times. As commander-in-chief of the army in Ireland, however, the responsibilities for the excesses of the military must be laid firmly at his door, while the harsh nature of the post-war settlement also bears his personal imprint. Cromwell was no monster, but he did commit monstrous acts. A warrior of Christ, somewhat like the crusaders of medieval Europe, he acted as God's executioner, convinced throughout the horrors of the legitimacy of his cause, and striving to build a better world for the chosen few. He remains, therefore, a remarkably modern figure, somebody to be closely studied and understood, rather than simply revered or reviled.
The Sailor in the Wardrobe by Hugo Hamilton
Paperback; 11 Euro / 16 USD / 8 UK; 262 pages [Add To Basket]
Following on from the success of "The Speckled People", Hugo Hamilton's new memoir recounts the summer he spent working at a local harbour in Ireland, at a time of tremendous fear and mistrust. Young Hugo longs to be released from the confused identity he has inherited from his German mother and Irish father, but the backdrop of his mother's shame at the hands of Allied soldiers in the aftermath of the Second World War, along with his German cousin's mysterious disappearance somewhere on the Irish West Coast and the spiralling troubles in the north, seems determined to trap him in history. In an attempt to break free of his past, Hugo rebels against his father's strict and crusading regime and turns to the exciting new world of rock and roll, still a taboo subject in the family home. His job at the local harbour, rather than offering a welcome respite from his speckled world, entangles him in a bitter feud between two fishermen - one Catholic, one Protestant. Hugo listens to the missing persons bulletins going out on the radio for his German cousin, and watches the unfolding harbour duel end in drowning before he can finally escape the ropes of history.
Unstoppable Brilliance: Irish Geniuses and Asperger’s Syndrome by Antoinette Walker and Michael Fitzgerald
Large Format Trade Paperback; 17 Euro / 24 USD / 12 UK; 336 pages [Add To Basket]
How much of what exceptional people achieve can be put down to drive or initiative or destiny and what exactly do we mean by those things? What if such remarkable people and their extra-ordinary accomplishments were almost of themselves inescapable or unstoppable such is the somewhat radical thesis at the heart of these fascinating pen pictures of exceptional Irish figures whose lives and feats are viewed through this new prism? Certainly there is ever-increasing coverage and awareness of autism and Aspergers syndrome in the media, in films such as Rainman and in literature - most notably in the hugely successful book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon which won the Whitbread Prize. Very often people who are affected by Aspergers exhibit high-level abilities in certain areas, other physical or behavioral traits may also be apparent. In Unstoppable Brilliance, the authors seek to demonstrate the particular facts, foibles and attributes of many well-known Irish historical figures, and show that in many ways their drive, focus and considerable achievements were almost inevitable given their high-level aptitude in particular fields an aptitude not entirely of their own making or volition.
Kings of the Turf: Ireland’s Top Racehorse Trainers by Michael Clower
Paperback; 10 Euro / 15 USD / 7 UK; 210 pages, with black-and-white photo insert [Add To Basket]
Ireland has always been at the heart of horse racing, but increasingly its horses and trainers have come to dominate at the highest level, both on the flat and in National Hunt. Top owners like John Magnier (himself an Irishman) choose an Irish trainer, Aidan O'Brien, who has taken over from and continued the winning tradition of the legendary Vincent O'Brien. The Cheltenham Festival, highlight of the jumping year, has in recent years become a remarkable Irish festival, as tens of thousands of punters go for the craic and to see the best horses of trainers like Willie Mullins, Jessica Harrington and Dessie Hughes - Hedgehunter, Moscow Flyer and Hardy Eustace - triumph in the biggest races.Now Michael Clower has profiled the 12 most successful racehorse trainers in Ireland at the moment. As well as those mentioned already they include Michael Hourigan, trainer of the great steeplechaser Beef or Salmon, flat trainer John Oxx, and the distinctly larger-than-life Edward O'Grady.
Hidden Soldier: An Irish Legionnaire’s Wars from Bosnia to Iraq by Padraig O’Keeffe
Trade paperback; 12 Euro / 18 USD / 9 UK; 380 pages, with two 8-page full colour photo inserts [Add To Basket]
Padraig O Â’Keeffe joined the elite and secretive French Foreign Legion at the age of twenty, seeking a challenge that would absorb his interests and intensity. He served with the Legion in Cambodia and Bosnia, then returned to civilian life, but military habits would not allow him to settle. His need for intense excitement and extreme danger drove him back to the lifestyle he knew and loved, and using his Legion training, he became a ‘Hidden Soldier’ by opting for security missions in Iraq and Haiti. In Iraq he was the sole survivor of an ambush in no man’s land between Abu Ghraib and Fallujah, the most dangerous place on earth. An intense, exciting and vivid account of extraordinary and sometimes horrific events, Hidden Soldier lifts the veil on the dark and shadowy world of security contractors and what the situation is really like in Iraq as well as other trouble spots. This bestseller also includes photographs taken by Padraig O’Keeffe while he was a Legionnaire and when he was in Iraq.
Please note: Prices were correct at time of original posting but are subject to subsequent change without notice.
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