Read Ireland Book Reviews
Issue 381 - 9 June 2007
Irish Furniture by the Knight of Glin and James Peill
Hardback; 70 Euro / 100 USD / 50 UK
This lavishly illustrated and comprehensive volume is the first devoted entirely to the subject of Irish furniture and woodwork. It provides a detailed survey—encompassing everything from medieval choir stalls to magnificent drawing-room suites for the great houses—from earliest times to the end of the eighteenth century. The first part of the book presents a chronological history, illustrated with superb examples of Irish furniture and interior carving. In a lively text, the Knight of Glin and James Peill consider a broad range of topics, including a discussion of the influence of Irish craftsmen in the colonies of America. The second part of the book is a fascinating pictorial catalogue of different types of surviving furniture, including chairs, stools, baroque sideboards, elegant tea and games tables, bookcases, and mirrors. The book also features an index of Irish furniture-makers and craftsmen of the eighteenth century, compiled from Dublin newspaper advertisements and other contemporary sources.
A Provisional Dictator: James Stephens and the Fenian Movement
Trade Paperback; 30 Euro / 39 USD / 24 UK; 316 pages [Add To Basket]
"A Provisional Dictator" is a political biography of James Stephens, the founder of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Marta Ramon traces Stephens' political and revolutionary career from his involvement in Young Ireland's insurrection in 1848 until his death in Dublin on 29 March 1901. James Stephens was born in Kilkenny in obscure circumstances in 1825. In 1848, he joined William Smith O'Brien's revolutionary attempt and took part in the skirmish at the Widow McCormack's house near Ballingarry. After the failure he escaped to France, where he worked as a translator and tutor of English. In 1856 he returned to Ireland, and in 1858 he founded the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Irish branch of the Fenian movement. However, Stephens' continued reluctance to order the long-expected rising led to his overthrow in December 1866. After his deposition he exiled himself in France and until the early 1880s made several unsuccessful attempts to regain power. In 1891, he was finally allowed to return to Dublin, where he died on 29 March 1901. James Stephens is one of the most fascinating personalities in Irish nationalist history. Arrogant, dictatorial, manipulative and unscrupulous about the means to attain his ends, but intensely charismatic and mesmerisingly persuasive, he lacked essential qualities as a revolutionary leader, but can be ranked among the best political organisers of the nineteenth century. "A Provisional Dictator" follows Stephens' revolutionary career and the course of the IRB under his leadership, explaining the tactical and political motives behind his most controversial decisions. (also available in hardback, priced at 60 Euro)
Four Irish Rebel Plays edited by James Moran
Trade Paperback; 28 Euro / 36 USD / 18 UK; 300 pages
This work collects together for the first time, plays written by the well-known Irish nationalists Patrick Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh, James Connolly and Terence MacSwiney. In the months before 1916 MacDonagh staged "When the Dawn is Come", and Pearse staged "The Master", both works were designed to persuade the Dublin populace to support the advanced nationalist cause. At the same time, MacSwiney staged his play "The Revolutionist" in order to win the support of Redmondite nationalists in Cork. At Liberty Hall, only three weeks before taking part in the armed revolt of 1916, Connolly staged "Under Which Flag?" to persuade socialists to join the rebellion. The plays offer important insights into the rebels' political and military thinking. The introduction explains exactly how the plays influenced the Irish revolution between 1916 and 1921 and explores the theatrical influences that affected the rebels. The context of the plays original staging and subsequent influence both inside and outside the playhouse is also covered. The epilogue outlines the varying afterlives that the plays enjoyed once their authors were dead.
The Phoenix Park Murders: Conspiracy, Betrayal and Retribution by Senan Molony
Paperback; 13 Euro / 17 USD / 10 UK; 285 pages [Add To Basket]
In May, 1882, the Number One administrator of the British government in Ireland and his Number Two are assassinated by men wielding deadly surgical knives, while the pair are walking in the Phoenix Park. The killings are witnessed from the Viceregal Lodge, now Aras an Uachtarain, the official residence of her majesty's representative in Ireland. One of the dead men is Lord Frederick Cavendish - who is married to the niece of the prime minister, William Ewart Gladstone. The other man is Thomas Henry Burke, the head of the Irish Civil Service, a man denounced by Nationalists as the leading 'Castle Rat' in the British 'occupation'. The British government must solve this crime. But there are no clues. The witness descriptions are inconclusive and the local police do not know where to begin. Forensic evidence is non-existent, and they must try to penetrate the Fenian underworld. But even here, no one knows anything because the audacious crime has been carried out by an entirely new group, one styling itself the 'Irish Invincibles'.
Exploring the History and Heritage of Irish Landscapes by Patrick J. Duffy
Trade Paperback; 20 Euro / 27 USD / 14 UK
This book highlights the principal themes and elements in the making of the landscape, and the sources which can assist historians and historical geographers in studying and understanding Irish landscape history. Major and local sources relating to the natural environment, cultural landscapes and the built environment are explored. The book also looks at representations of landscapes in literature, painting and other artistic sources that can provide insights into the nature of real and imagined worlds of the past. The ultimate source which features prominently throughout this study is the landscape itself on which generations before us have inscribed the marks of their presence in ?elds, farms, houses, villages, towns, roads, lanes and the infrastructure of settlement.
Celtic Way of Seeing by Frank MacEowen
Paperback; 15 Euro / 20 USD / 10 UK; 145 pages
The Celtic way of seeing posits a direct link between the eye and the heart, a link that connects seekers to forces, energies, and knowledge that exist beyond the corporeal world. Here, Frank MacEowen explains this intuitive way of seeing by retelling a traditional Irish story, "The Settling of the Manor of Tara." The story is essential because it introduced to Irish culture the concept of the four directions — north, south, east, and west. For the Irish, just as for Native Americans, the directions act as guides and protectors. Once seekers learn to “see” the directions, spirituality becomes a living thing, making each seeker not just an observer but a participant. After retelling the ancient story in beautiful, prose evocative of ancient Ireland, MacEowen then places its wisdom in contemporary terms, and shares exercises and practices that help readers incorporate the teachings into daily life.
Sean O Dalaigh: Eigse agus Iomarbha by Proinsias O Drisceoil
Hardback; 20 Euro / 27 USD / 14 UK; 488 pages [Add To Basket]
This is the first comprehensive study of the work of Sean O Dalaigh/John O'Daly, the great nineteenth-century scribe; compiler and collector of manuscripts, editor, anthologist; publisher of Gaelic verse and stories and founder of societies for the publication of Gaelic literature. In addition, he is an important figure in the development of Anglo Irish literature. Written in Irish, the book includes a detailed analysis of his sources, manuscript compilations, printed editions and connections in the literary world. I measc na neacht a chuir se i gcrich bhi solathar oidhreacht na lamhscribhinni Gaeilge i bhfoirm chlo ar luach iseal. Bhiodh diol agus foilsiu leabhar ar bun aige in eineacht agus chuir an sraithfhoilseachan, Reliques of Irish Jacobite Poetry (1844) amhrain pholaitiula na Mumhan agus an chruinneshamhail a ghabh leo ar fail do chach. Leirigh a leabhar, Poets and Poetry of Munster (1849), agus na haistriuchain chluiteacha le James Clarence Mangan a foilsiodh ann, buanna eigse iarChlasaiceach na Gaeilge. San Irish Language Miscellany (1876) diolamaiodh an eigse scriofa agus bheil i dteannta a cheile ar chuma a bhi mar eiseamlair san fhichiu haois. Agus a ghno diolta/foilsithe leabhar bogtha o Chill Chainnigh go Baile Atha Cliath aige, bhunaigh se an Cumann Ceilteach ann i lar na 1840i agus bhunaigh se an Cumann Oisineach in 1853. D'fheach an Cumann Oisineach ach go hairithe le laoithe agus scealta Fiannaiochta a bhi i lamhscribhinni na Mumhan a chur i gclo.
Bibeanna: Memories from a Corner of Ireland edited by Brenda Ni Shuilleabhain
Large Format Paperback; 20 Euro / 27 USD / 14 UK; 350 pages, with black-and-white photos throughout [Add To Basket]
Twenty women from the Dingle gaeltacht look back on their lives and the changes they have witnessed from childhood to the present day. The accounts they give are intimate, recalling their personal lives but their memories and experiences extend beyond the personal. Collectively, they provide a commentary on the changing face of Ireland. These women, who are familiar with the hedge schools and the famine from the first hand accounts of their grandparents, now connect with their grandchildren on their mobile phones. In their youth, healing relied on the use of herbs and such traditional healers as the bonesetter; today they have medical centres and home help. They have seen the arrival of radio, television, flush toilets and the page-three pin-up; new-found affluence and political, clerical and local scandal. They have taken much in their stride, and their vitality and resourcefulness continue to glow.
No Place for a Boy: A Life at Harland & Wolff by Tom McCluskie
Trade Paperback; 24 Euro / 30 USD / 16 UK; 160 pages, with black-and-white photos throughout [Add To Basket]
Tom McCluskie grew up in Belfast and followed his father and was apprenticed into Harland and Wolff's shipyard on Queen's Island, Belfast. Harland and Wolff was a hard working environment, and also dangerous but Tom accepted this as the price to pay for working at such a famous shipyard, the one that had built the Titanic and also the Canberra. Slowly working his way up through determination and hard work, Tom became passionate about the history of the yard and, at a time when no-one in HandW cared, he managed to secure the company's archive and was responsible for having it deposited at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. As an acknowledged Titanic expert, he was also seconded by HandW to help James Cameron make his epic "Titanic" movie, starring Leonardo de Caprio and Kate Winslett. A regular speaker at Titanic conventions worldwide, Tom has written numerous books on the Titanic and her two sister ships.
We Lost Our Baby: One Couple’s Story of Miscarriage and Its Aftermath by Siobhan O’Neill-White and David White
Paperback; 11 Euro / 15 USD / 8 UK; 135 pages [Add To Basket]
"We Lost Our Baby" is the true story of a young couple who, after the initial excitement of discovering a new pregnancy, faced the heartache of losing their baby. On top of the trauma of a miscarriage, they also had to deal with insensitive and sometimes rude doctors and nurses, outdated hospital policies and a shocking lack of empathy and understanding during the worst times of this tragedy. Angry and confused, they went looking for answers. They found none. There were no books to help them with the emotional upheaval they were going through. There were no explanations from the hospital as to why they had lost their baby and the counselling on offer was largely ineffective. What followed was an awkward few months where they could not grieve together and their relationship was severely strained. It was not just their relationship with each other that was affected. Family and friends who did not know how to deal with the situation also became isolated from them. After months of strained contact, they nearly lost some close friends because of this tragedy. Realising that communication was the key to getting through this sorrowful time, they finally started talking and found a way to get their relationship back on track. They also found that if they spoke honestly and openly to family and friends, they could get those relationships back as well. Knowing that other couples who have lost a baby would be going through similar difficulties, they decided to write down their experience in an effort to help them. Their beautifully written poignant story, dealing with an issue that is too rarely acknowledged and discussed openly, is one of complete and heartrending honesty.
Troubled Epic: On Location with Ryan’s Daughter by Michael Tanner
Large Format Paperback; 18 Euro / 26 USD / 13 UK;192 pages, with black-and-white photos throughout [Add To Basket]
Ryan’s Daughter won two Oscars. This book, focusing on the locations and interviewing local people involved, describes the troubled shooting of the film, on and off camera, and how its stars – Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, Trevor Howard, Christopher Jones and John Mills – coped with a year on Ireland’s south-west coast in the 1960s. This is the behind-the-scenes story of a film which changed the Dingle Peninsula overnight.
Paddy on the Hardwood: A Journey in Irish Hoops by Rus Bradburd
Hardback; 25 Euro / 30 USD / 15 UK; 240 pages [Add To Basket]
Why would a successful college basketball coach walk away from a lucrative job in America's most glamorous sport? The burned out Rus Bradburd, enamoured with Ireland and its music, took a job coaching in the lowly Irish Super League, but was unprepared for what he found. Perplexed by the small town Tralee's Frosties Tigers - a cast of misfits and underachievers more concerned with their day jobs, Gaelic Football, and Guinness - he turned to traditional Irish music for wisdom and solace.
The Irish Scissor Sisters by Mick McCaffrey
Paperback; 13 Euro / 16 USD / 8 UK; 300 pages [Add To Basket]
Securities Editor with the "Sunday Tribune", Mick McCaffrey exposes the inside story of the events that led up to the infamous 'torso in the canal' murder committed by the Mulhall sisters in March 2005. Using witness statements, crime scene photographs and details of the intricate Garda investigation, McCaffrey reconstructs the day of the murder and delves into the motives and past history of all the people involved and investigates the events that led to the sisters' arrest and conviction.
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