Read Ireland Book News - Issue 33
<-- [Back To Main Menu] 1. Thanks a Million Big Fella: Charles Haughey by Sam Smyth (paperback; 9.99 IRP / 15.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
It was an unholy trinity - Charles Haughey, Ben Dunne, Michael Lowry - involved in an epic and ugle saga of power, money, greed - and a famiily at war over a billion-pound retailing empire.
In this book, award-winning journalist Sam Smyth unravels the Byzantine complexities of one of the most bizarre scandals in the history of the Irish state.
Amid rumours of surveillance, allegations of corruptions in Irish state companies, sackings and leaks, Michael Lowry is the cool, clear hero - until Sam Smyth reveals that the government minister's own business and home have been paid for secretly by Dunnes Stores.
In a series of startling revelations, this book tells: how Ben Dunne became addicted to cocaine; how Charles Haughey planned to destroy the High Court judge investigating the 1.3 million pounds he received Ð and bring down the payments-to-politicians tribunal; how Ben Dunne's evidence directly contradicts the testimony of his solicitor on the crucial three bank drafts Ð and why, despite everything, Charles Haughey still insists he was not handed the drafts.
This is a fascinating, eye-opening account of back-room politics and money-go-rounds.
2. An Irish Roadside Camera: Ireland's Earliest Motorists and their Automobiles, 1896-1906 by Bob Montgomery (hardback; 25.00 IRP / 37.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
This book comprises a collection of over 100 photographs, most never previously published and drawn from the great Irish national collections: the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, the Lawrence Collection, the Father Browne Collection and the magnificent RIAC Guinness Segrave Archive, as well as from many private sources previously unseen. The photographs capture the authentic flavour of the automobiles and their owners, the eccentricities and achievements of the first 10 years of motoring in Ireland against the backdrop of rural and urban society, and a rich variety of people and places. The photographs are comprehensively captioned and the book contains a chronology of motoring and a substantial introduction for all readers with an interest in a bygone era of Irish life.
3. Father Browne's Titanic Album: A Passenger's Photographs and Personal Memoir by E.E. O'Donnell (hardback; 20.00 IRP/ 32.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
A remarkable record in pictures and words of the Titanic's tragic maiden voyage by Father Browne whose pictures of the liner and her passengers appeared in the world's front-page reports of the tragedy in 1912.
4. Danoli: The People's Champion by Tom Foley and Michael Taub (hardback; 19.00 IRP / 31.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
Danoli is nothing short of a miracle horse, who, but for the love of his owner and his trainer would have been shot dead after shattering a leg while winning the 1995 Martell Hurdle at Aintree. Nobody knows precisely when during the race the horrifying injury occurred, but the fact that Danoli battled on to win despite have cracked the joint between his cannon-bone and pastern left race jockey Charlie Swan spellbound.
In this moving and inspiring book, the author tells of the unique near-spiritual bond he shares with this revered horse. Set against the breath-taking beauty of the Blackstairs Mountains in Ireland, the book records the highs and lows, the dramas and crises of his remarkable partnership with the horse. It also captures the unremitting joy of working with a horse who has defied all the odds and with bravery and sheer will-to-win become a true racing legend.
5. Nealon's Guide to the 28th Dail and Seanad: Election 1997 by Ted Nealon (paperback; 12.99 IRP / 19.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
This book is the latest edition of Ireland's outstanding political work of reference. For the last 25 years, Nealon's Guide has appeared after every general election. It has provided a comprehensive profile of each Dail and Seanad, laid out in a style that is at once visually attractive and easy to follow.
At the heart of the book are the election results. The complete count from every constituency is given, showing not only the first preferences but the subsequent distribution of surpluses and the votes of eliminated candidates right down to the filling of the last seat. There are profiles of every Member of the Dail and every Senator, a full listing of all cabinet and ministerial appointments, and statistical and political analysis.
This book is the essential reference work for Election '97 and for the new Dail, Seanad and government which it has produced.
6. In The Name of the Game by J.J. Barrett (paperback; 8.95 IRP / 13.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
This story of how six Kerry footballers epitomised the spirit of Gaelic games throughout thecountry in the difficult '20s and '30s makes gripping reading from both the sporting and historical viewpoint.
The part played by the Gaelic Athletic Association and Gaelic games in healing the wounds and bitterness inflicted by the Civil War has for long been acknowledged by historians and other writers. The author choses his native Kerry as an example of the reconciliation wrought by Gaelic games nationwide in the aftermath of the Civil War. He choses rightly, for Kerry was at the core of the Civil War atrocities and, being a heartland of Gaelic football, crucially central to the healing which that game helped to bring to a bitterly divided people.
7. Irish Almanac and Yearbook of Facts 1998 (paperback; 6.95 IRP / 10.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
This authoritative soucebook gives a comprehensive overview of Ireland, North and South. It is comprehensive in every respect. It has more information, more facts, more statistics about what is happening here than any book ever published. It is a one stop archive which covers every aspect of life on the island of Ireland, from politics to profiles of Irish writers, from population figures to football. Included are major articles from some of Ireland's leading academics, commentators, and public-figures. Their insightful and sometimes controversial and always thought-provoking pieces have added considerably not only to the authority but also to the comprehension of the subjects they are writing about. This book is truly the ultimate guide to everything about Ireland, North and South.
<-- [Back To Main Menu]