Read Ireland Book Reviews
Issue 369 - 3 March 2007
A Guide to Dublin Bay: Mirror to the City by John Givens
Large Format Paperback; 20 Euro / 26 USD / 14 UK; 270 pages, with black-and-white photos throughout
Dublin Bay has always been at the centre of the history and development of Dublin City, but only in relatively recent times has it been appreciated as a valuable public amenity in its own right. Long viewed primarily in terms of shipping and transport - and as a convenient place to dump Dublin's waste - today it is enjoyed by thousands of sailors, windsurfers, cliff walkers, painters and others who are grateful to have this remarkable natural resource on their doorstep. "A Guide to Dublin Bay" looks at all aspects of what has been called Dublin's greatest asset: Dublin Bay in History, from the Battle of Clontarf to the sinking of the HMS Leinster by a German U-boat; Business on the Bay, with profiles of Irish Ferries, Stena Line, Dublin Port Co, the fishing industry and others; Watersports on the Bay, from sailing to scuba diving to swimming at the Forty Foot Baths in Sandycove; Safeguarding the Bay, with descriptions of the Martello towers, Poolbeg, Bailey and other lighthouses and the Irish Lifeboat Service; and the Natural Environment, looking at birdwatching, the Bull Island nature reserve, environmental issues, coastal marshes, water quality and exotic sea life. It also looks at: Day Trips on and by the Bay, including SeaSafari and other tours, cliff walks, and the Dart tour from Howth to Bray; Literary Links with the Bay, featuring James Joyce's Ulysses and Finnegans Wake; The Battle for the Bay, describing the controversies over repeated attempts at infills and other commercial development of the Bay, and the vigorous objections to them; and, the Future of the Bay, looking at the current proposals for sensible development of the Bay so that it can be enjoyed by all. With dozens of photographs, maps and illustrations, "A Guide to Dublin Bay" will be of great interest to both locals and tourists, and indeed to anyone with an appreciation of this unique and exceptional natural resource.
Dublin 1660-1860: The Shaping of a City by Maurice Craig
Large Paperback; 15 Euro / 19 USD / 10 UK; 380 pages [Add To Basket]
The city of Georgian facades and broad-avenued streets that we know as Dublin today was not always so. In Dublin 1660.1860,Maurice Craig explores the city.s golden era of architecture and its growth from a relatively unimportant settlement of nine thousand souls to, as Craig puts it himself, .the Augustan capital of a Gaelic nation.. He offers lively descriptions of many well-known Dublin locales and investigates the lobbying and political efforts involved in this growth process and examines in detail this aspect of the life of the city. As commentator and writer Mark Girouard observes in his foreword to the book, .much work has been done since by other historians, and by Maurice Craig himself, on individual aspects of Dublin.s buildings and architects, but as a masterly and enthralling general picture, nothing has replaced it.. Overall, the book is a colourful and witty survey that is certain to fund new readers as well as appealing to those who have been calling for some time for the book to be reissued
Ireland Beyond Boundaries: Mapping Irish Studies in the 21st Century edited by Liam Harte and Yvonne Wilson
Trade Paperback; 28 Euro / 37 USD / 19 UK; 274 pages
Ireland Beyond Boundaries provides an authoritative, up-to-date account of the development of Irish Studies over the past two decades. The fourteen contributors examine some of the key debates that have underpinned recent scholarship and analyse critical concerns that have shaped the subject’s remarkable growth. The book is divided into two parts. Part One traces the institutional fortunes of Irish Studies in Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia and Britain. Part Two features in-depth critical accounts of specific trends and themes within Irish historiography, literary criticism, religion, migration, music, cultural geography, sport and media culture. Throughout the collection there is a recurring engagement with the role of interdisciplinary approaches within Irish Studies and its impact on teaching and research. Combining synoptic overviews with informed analyses, Ireland Beyond Boundaries is an essential text for all those working in the field
Homocide: Murders and Manslaughter in 21st Century Ireland by John Burke and Eoghan Rice
Trade Paperback; 13 Euro / 17 USD / 9 UK; 290 pages [Add To Basket]
Ireland is not as safe as we would like to think. In 1960's Ireland there were only five homicides. Today, only 40 years later, there are 10 times as many murder and manslaughter cases each year. Why are two-thirds of the fatal assaults on women committed in their own home? What is the most dangerous county in our state? Why are 66 per cent of all children murdered in Ireland killed by one of their parents? Why are Lithuanian men twice as likely to die violently in Ireland, than in their native country? From drunken brawls and domestic disputes to the unnerving rise of organised crime and gangland killings, in Homicide investigative journalists, John Burke and Eoghan Rice, put our increasingly violent state under the microscope. They uncover shocking facts and hard-hitting statistics that expose the growing thirst for violence in Irish society. This book is a must read for anyone who wants a better understanding of the reality of life in Ireland today.
The Outsiders: Exposing the Secretive World of Ireland’s Travellers by Eamon Dillon
Trade Paperback; 13 Euro / 17 USD / 9 UK; 260 pages, with two 16-page black-and-white photo inserts
"The Outsiders" is a unique glimpse into the secretive world of Irish travellers where prejudice, crime and a burning loyalty to family, clan and tradition has made the community impervious to external influences. Over a four year period, investigative journalist Eamon Dillon has documented modern Irish travellers. He reveals their worldwide drive to succeed, which often takes them beyond the bounds of acceptable behaviour. From Bejing to Texas, Longford to London, Irish travellers have shown an incredible ability to surmount the obstacles of racism, ignorance and physical hardship to become modern day pavee princes who refuse to the bend to the arbitrary rules of a society where they remain 'the outsiders'.
Making Theatre in Northern Ireland: Through and Beyond the Troubles by Tom Maguire
Trade Paperback; 22 Euro / 27 USD / 16 UK; 220 pages
Making Theatre in Northern Ireland" examines the relationships between theatre and the turbulent political and social context of Northern Ireland since 1969. It explores in detail key theatrical performances, which deal directly with this context. The works examined are used as exemplars of wider approaches to theatre-making about Northern Ireland. The book is aimed at a student readership: it is largely play text-based, and it contains useful contextualising material such as a chronological list of Northern Ireland's plays in the modern period, a full bibliography, and a brief chronology. Students find it hard to obtain any detailed and informed perspective on this key element of the theatre of Ireland and Britain: Northern Ireland's theatrical traditions are normally discussed only as an adjunct to discussions of Irish theatre more generally, or as so exceptional as to be beyond comparison with others. This book sets out to fill this gap.
Imagining Ireland’s Independence: The Debates Over the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 by Jason Knirck
Trade Paperback; 24 Euro / 29 USD / 16 UK; 203 pages [Add To Basket]
The key turning point in modern Ireland's history, the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 has shadowed Ireland's political life for decades. In this first book-length assessment of the treaty in over seventy years, Jason Knirck recounts the compelling story of the nationalist politics that produced the Irish Revolution, the tortuous treaty negotiations, and the deep divisions within Sinn Fzin that led to the slow unraveling of fragile party cohesion. Knirck's incisive analysis is complemented by a comprehensive collection of annotated primary sources that give readers the drama and flavor of this contentious battle and allow them to engage directly with the positions of key historical figures. A fascinating story in its own right, the treaty debates also open a wider window onto questions of European nationalism, colonialism, state-building, and competing visions of Irish national independence.
Club, Sweat & Tears: The Newtown Story by Diarmuid O’Flynn
Paperback; 15 Euro / 18 USD / 11 UK; 160 pages, with black-and-white photos throughout and an 8-page colour photo insert [Add To Basket]
Every county in Ireland has it's own fabled GAA club. Approaching the town of Charleville in North Cork from any direction green and gold bunting starts to appear on gates, gable-ends, telegraph poles and odd nooks and crannies along the roadsides. Leaving Charleville heading west, the bunting become epidemic. Shortly you arrive in Newtownshandrum, the smallest hurling superpower in Ireland. This is the story of this small hurling club's rise from near total obscurity to national renown in a period of ten years. How did half a small rural parish in North Cork, population less than 800, produce a team of club hurlers to beat the best? Irish Examiner GAA correspondent Diarmuid O'Flynn goes behind the scenes to uncover the inside, intimate story. He discovers part of the answer lies in tradition but just as important is the role of fate, the confluence of other separate but ultimately binding events. Bernie O'Connor, an outstanding hurler with Meelin, also in North Cork, and Cork, marries Kathleen O'Mahony from Newtown and they set up home in Kathleen's native village. Twins are born, Ben and Gerry, other sons follow, all outstanding hurlers (a daughter, Paula, excels at camogie, winning All-Ireland medals with Cork). The twins start school on the same day in 1985 as seven other boys, all nine become top-class club hurlers. Waiting on the wings are slightly older players, such as John McCarthy and Pat Mulcahy, just enough to supplement the miracle class of 1985. Bernie turns out to be an outstanding and revolutionary hurling coach. The result is hurling alchemy, county and All-Ireland championships and All-Star awards.
The Blame Game: Rethinking Ireland’s Sustainable Development and Environmental Performance by Brendan Flynn
Trade Paperback; 28 Euro / 38 USD / 20 UK; 276 pages [Add To Basket]
Ireland's record in the field of environmental protection is one of the worst in Europe, and this book explores the reasons why. It examines the evolution of Irish environmental policy over the so-called 'Celtic Tiger' years of Ireland's economic boom while looking to the future as well. It considers why Ireland's environmental performance has been so lacklustre during this period, and what scope exists for improvement. The emphasis is placed primarily on institutional aspects of Irish environmental policy. In particular, this book offers a strong critique of the current Irish style of reaching environmental decisions, an excessive dependence on legal instruments, and a weak Irish local government system. The author further argues that Ireland has developed an institutional style of policy-making that urgently needs reform. He suggest a number of discreet but related problems that need to be understood and addressed. These include an excessive adversarial style of interaction between environmentalists, the Irish state, and business - the 'blame game' described in the title. Also fatal, is a complacency among the Irish policy elite, who have chosen to downplay environmental problems and continue to think of environmental policy as merely about corrective regulation, rather than adopting the wider and more ambitious vision of sustainable development. Individual chapters cover a range of topics, and the book will appeal to readers interested in comparative environmental policy and politics, the role of institutions in environmental policy-making, or indeed anyone keen to understand the post 'Celtic Tiger' politics and society of an Ireland in transition.
By Hereditary Virtues: A History of Lough Rynn by Fiona Slevin
Hardback; 23 Euro / 30 USD / 17 UK; 185 pages [Add To Basket]
Lord Leitrim was not a bad man - if he got his own way", or so one contemporary writer described the 3rd Earl of Leitrim. The Earl lives in local memory as a notorious despot who represented the worst excesses of landlordism in Ireland during the 19th century. Drawing on various primary and secondary sources, this book describes how the Lough Rynn estate emerged from early times up to the end of the 19th century. It focuses largely on the 3rd Earl of Leitrim including, his management of the Lough Rynn estate, his role during and after the famine and his eventual demise. In doing so, the book provides evidence to support the long-held characterisation of Lord Leitrim as a tyrannical landlord. It also unearths enough data to provide a more balanced view of a man who started with a strong determination to improve the land and the lives of those who lived on it but who ultimately destroyed and was destroyed because of his arrogance and hubris. The story, however, is not just about one man, but rather about all the people who lived and died during an important period in Irish history.
Carrauntoohil & MacGillycuddy’s Reeks by Jim Ryan
Hardback; 20 Euro / 26 USN / 14 UK; 142 pages, with full colour photos and maps throughout [Add To Basket]
The MacGillycuddy's Reeks are Ireland's highest mountains with Carrauntoohil tallest at 1039m. Occupying about 100 square km., they stretch from the picturesque Gap of Dunloe in the east to Glencar in the west. Attracting over 25,000 walkers annually, they are a wonderful playground. However, many routes are not clearly marked and mist or fog covers them for three quarters of the year. Access to a proper guide is therefore essential before venturing on to the Reeks. This guide to 20 of popular walking routes on the Reeks contains full-colour maps specially commissioned from the Ordnance Survey, clear photographs and precise map references. However, this is not just a walking guide. It also encompasses the history of the area, its geology and natural history, its place names and people. Useful information on travel and accommodation is also provided. It will be the most comprehensive guide to the area to be published for some time.
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