Read Ireland Book News - Issue 21
<-- [Back To Main Menu] 1. "Who Are 'The People": Unionism, Protestantism and Loyalism in Northern Ireland edited by Peter Shirlow and Mark McGovern (paperback; 15.45 Irish pounds / 23.20 US Dollars approximately) [Add To Basket]
"We are the people" is a popular loyalist slogan in Northern Ireland - a clear and unequivocal statement of loyalty, identity and devotion to and from Ireland's Protestants. The contributors to this collection, many of whom are members of Northern Ireland's Protestant community, examine the meaning behind this legend of unity and unwavering devotion.
This book reflects more than a simplified analysis which accepts the criticism of, or devotion to, the Protestant community. It critiques the many issues and concerns which face a heterogeneous community whose lifestyle, politics and cultural affiliation are both reproduced and modified. In their broad analysis, the authors explore 'new' Unionism, gender issues, Protestant fundamentalism, working-class identity, and socio-cultural change. This book broadens the debate on Northern Ireland and enables an effective challenge to the sectarian asperity that condemns this society to cultural and political opposition.
2. Stone Mad by Seamus Murphy (paperback; 11.00 IRP / 16.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
The acclaimed Irish classic available again! This book contains the memories of seven years as an apprentice stonecarver by a craftsman/artist who become one of Ireland's most respected sculptors.
The young Seamus Murphy, studying modelling at the Crawford School of Art in Cork in the early 1920s, took the unusual step of apprenticing himself to a master stonecarver to learn the ancient craft of the mason. This book tells the story of his seven years of growing knowledge of the challenges and joys of stone - and of the men who worked it. His artistic feeling for quality responded to his workmates' reverence for the 'well-made thing', their insistence on the making of the hand before the mind and heart could properly speak.
The result is a book of surpassing beauty, full of warmth, humour and profound perception.
3. Strumpet of Glenaree: Connacht Mary by Bernard J. Byrne (paperback; 5.50 IRP/ 8.25 USD) [Add To Basket]
She was the scourge of the clergy. She was regarded as a witch. She was an outcast, feared and loathed by so many people. She was an enigmatic woman, full of bitterness and hate.
The priest spoke to his people: "Nobody will speak to her. Nobody will deal with her in any matter. Nobody will even look at her for even the shortest moment. One glance at this Satan and you will die."
The author, throughout his childhood in the Rosses of Donegal, listened to the old people talk in hushed tones about the women whose name brought terror into the hearts of many and generated heated debate and argument throughout the community. He was compelled to look at the whole life of this fascinating woman. He traces her footsteps from the day of her birth in the valley of Glenaree in County Mayo in 1780 until her death in 1869. He carries the reader into the dark distant past to meet some of the strange characters who created their own special history.
4. Media in Ireland: The Search for Diversity edited by Declan Kibard (paperback; 6.95 IRP / 10.40 USD) [Add To Basket]
This book examines the increasing concentration of media ownership and the implications that this may have for the work of individual journalists and the preservation of unique cultures and identities. Its contents include: Democracy and public service broadcasting in Ireland; Does public service broadcasting really serve the public?; Have media practitioners a brief to change society?; The peace process: who defines news - the media or government press offices?; The dangers posed to democracy by the new media monopolies; Ownership, standards, diversity: a way forward; Church-media relations in Ireland: an onlooker's view.
5. Mary Robinson: An Independent Voice by John Horgan (hardback; 14.99 IRP / 22.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
Mary Robinson's appointment to the post of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is the culmination of an extraordinary career. As a barrister, she was responsible for landmark legal cases, particularly in the area of women's rights; elected to the Senate at the age of 25, she showed fearless commitment to human rights issues, constantly pressing for justice through changes in legislation; in her roles as first woman President of Ireland, her ability, compassion and skill as an international diplomat raised the profile of her country to unprecedented heights.
This book assesses the legal and political career of Mary Robinson, reveals the personality behind the public figure and examines the forces that have motivated her life's work.
6. Irish Love Poems edited by A. Norman Jeffares (paperback; 8.99 IRP / 13.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
Chance encounters, flirtations and courtship, loves requited and spurned, partings and reconciliations - Love, its passion, pleasure and pain, has inspired poets from the dawn of time. This memorable collection is chosen from fourteen centuries of Irish writing. It includes erotic verse from anonymous Celts; love songs from Tom Moore, the blind harpist O'Carolan and Sinead O'Connor; the work of the famous names of classic Irish literature - Swift, Goldsmith, Yeats, Beckett, Wilde, Synge as well as recent Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney; Eavan Boland, Nuala ni Dhomhnaill and the young generation of emerging Irish poets. A lovely collection!
Special Offers:
Kevin Barry and His Time by Donal O'Donovan (paperback; Special Price: 3.99 IRP / 5.99 USD - Original Price: 9.99 IRP) [Add To Basket]
This book recounts the short life of Kevin Barry, who aged 18 and a medical student at University College Dublin and an Irish Volunteer, was hanged by the British on 1 November 1920 for his part in an ambush in which three British soldiers were killed. It does not glorify martyrdom nor does it stray from what happened. Much of its evidence is new, based on private family papers, interviews in Ireland and England, legal and cabinet papers and personal diaries.
Sheridan LeFanu and Victorian Ireland by W.J. McCormack (paperback; Special Price: 3.99 IRP / 5.99 USD - Original Price: 10 IRP) [Add To Basket]
Sheridan LeFanu was a highly original author of fantastic fiction - novels and short stories - and a key figure in Irish conservative politics during the first half of the Victorian age. This outstanding biography explores the contradictions of his achievement.
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