Read Ireland Book News - Issue 40
<-- [Back To Main Menu] Hope Deferred: Experiences of an Irish Unionist by Basil McIvor (paperback; 14.80 IRP/ 22.20 USD) [Add To Basket]
Protestant liberals are not rare in Northern Ireland, but their conspicuous absence from active politics has been one of the most dispiriting, and damaging, aspects of the ongoing situation.
There are, however, some honourable exceptions and Basil McIvor is one of them. Son of the manse, lawyer and family man, he entered the Stormount parliament as a Unionist MP in 1969 when that institution, with its record of Protestant privilege and anti-Catholic discrimination was about to fall apart.
Eventually McIvor found himself in the hot seat of minister of community relations in Brian Faulkner's cabinet, a post he was holding when Edward Heath's government prorogued Stormont and introduced direct rule from Westminster. Subsequently he served as minister of education in the powersharing Executive and it was during this period that his interest in integrated education for Catholic and Protestant children was kindled.
After the fall of the Executive he returned to the law, becoming a widely respected resident magistrate. Integrated education remained a passion, however, and he played a pivotal role in the formation of the pioneering Lagan College.
The candour of his memoirs, written in retirement but at a time of unprecedented movement on the broader political stage, makes this quiet, thoughtful book an invaluable addition to the literature of the Troubles.
Dying in Style by Michael Carson (paperback; 6.99 IRP / 10.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
Detective Inspector Dyer, the crumpled bisexual policeman, believes that publicity is the great sin of our age. Those caught in its shining lens are glorified and magnified, prior to being burnt up by a focused heat. Dyer's contention is proved when Arthur Whiteworth, the author of Dying in Style, a thriller pilloried by critics, dies and his remaindered book takes on a life of its own. The characters of his book - stolen from real life - start dying in the manner described in his book.
Dr. Edith Gonne - Dyer's estranged wife, a leading forensic pathologist - cuts up the casualities, seeking truth, trying to make sense of religion, addiction and her errant husband.
A Little History of Irish Food by Regina Sexton (paperback; 6.99 IRP / 10.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
As Irish cuisine becomes ever more popular, Ireland's leading food historian, Regina Sexton, has written a very timely book. It is filled with the richness of the land and warmth of Irish culture. Beautifully illustrated and researched with great care, this small book holds delights to please the eye, the heart and the tastebuds.
Rebellion in Kildare: 1790-1803 by Liam Chambers (paperback; 9.95 IRP / 15.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
This book examines the politicisation and rebellion in County Kildare during the peiod from 1790 to 1803, a period of upheaval and turbulence which has witnessed a surge in historical interest in the past two decades. During the 1790s, a vocal liberal establishment centred on the duke of Leinster, Catholic and reformist politics, militant Defenderism and a large United Irish society involving prominent liberals, all contributed to the politicisation of the Kildare populace. Against this background a faction loyal to the Dublin government attempted to stablise and secure the county, with the increasing support of the administration.
The 1798 rebellion engulfed Kildare, lasting two months and involving thousands of rebels. After initial success it evolved into a 'fugitive' war centred on the Bog of Allen where rebels held government forces at bay for weeks. During the post-rebellion period radicalism persisted at a local level and thousands of Kildaremen were prepared to participate in 'Emmet's rebellion' in 1803. In examining Kildare in this period the book seeks to contribute to the wider debate on the forces of radicalism and reaction which polarised Irish society in the 1790s.
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