Read Ireland Book News - Issue 70
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Birth of A Republic by Eoin Neeson (Paperback; 16.99 IRP / 23.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
It is often forgotten that the painful emergence of a separate Irish nation-state in 1922 was as much the end of one facet of a single movement as the beginning of another. In this book, the author's fresh narrative traces the course of formative republican ideals and events in Ireland, the people involved, their glories and tragedies, from 1798 to the foundation of the state. This illuminating appraisal, in the author's modern, readable style, places the 'republican thrust' in context and includes new examination of the international climate of the times and the influence it had on events in Ireland. The dramatic events of the 19th century, the changes in national outlook following the Rising, the surge of republican Sinn Fein, and the strange death of the Irish Parliamentary Party, the progress of the War of Independence, the Treaty negotiations, the split and Civil War - together with the curious role of the Irish Republican Brotherhood throughout - are all meticulously traced in lively and elegant prose. The IRB provided Michael Collins with a loyal power-base through which he exercised enormous hidden influence. On the day of his death he was enroute to a meeting of IRB officers in Cork, including neutrals and opposition, with a view to achieving peace. What might the results of that meeting have been? It is not possible to understand contemporary Irish history and politics without a knowledge of these events. The detail and clarity of Eoin Neeson's masterly appraisal make this book compelling and essential reading.
Mama Tina by Christina Noble (Hardback; 15.99 IRP / 22.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
This is the inspiring sequel to her best-selling autobiography, Bridge Across My Sorrows. Christina Noble is a woman who knows the pain and loneliness of being left outside the door - of having no door of one's own to walk through, for she was once a street-child alone on the streets of Dublin. When she told the story of her early life in her autobiography she had no idea that it would prove a catalyst for so many others who had suffered childhood pain and rejection, of that it would inspire them to take the first courageous steps toward self-acceptance and their own self-healing.
In 1989, driven by a dream and by the memory of her own past, she travelled 6000 miles to Vietnam, a country of great beauty where war has left a terrible legacy. Against extraordinary odds she opened a Childrens Foundation, a haven of food, beds, medical aid and schooling where the street children of Saigon can find safety and new beginnings under the protection of 'Mama Tina.'
In this vivid and moving book, Christina Noble's compelling story continues with the amazing tale of what she and her Foundation have achieved. She takes the reader from the streets of Saigon to the Children's Prisons of Mongolia. A staunch campaigner for children's rights, for her there are no frontiers, only a world filled with children reaching out. Finally she returns to Dublin, where the former street orphan is officially and proudly greeted by the President of Ireland herself. Christina Noble writes of her life as if every reader is her personal friend.
Doing Irish Local History: Pursuit and Practice edited by Raymond Gillespie and Myrtle Hill (Paperback; 10.00 IRP / 15.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
Local history is one of the fastest-growing interests in Ireland today. What is it and how do you set about doing it? Is it the collection of minutiae of one particular place or is it the chronicling of the part played by that town, village or townland in the evolution of a nation? In this book, eight distinguished practitioners write about the variety of ways in which local history might by done. Individual contributions show how to set about studying a town or townland and how to interpret local history within a wider context. Other essays highlight the role of the landscape, the built environment, folklore and literature in interpreting the past. Throughout, there is concrete help and advice for both beginners and experienced local historians as their subject is put under the microscope for the first time.
The Craic: A Journey Through Ireland by Mark McCrum (Paperback; 12.60 IRP / 19.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
The world is increasingly besieged by images of Ireland and Irishness. Films, sitcoms, novels, plays, poetry, music, theme pubs, Murphy's ads - whatever may happen in the troublesome North, no one can deny the fact that Irish culture generally is more popular than ever. And yet, what do you really know of this island, the people and their way of life? What lies behind the all-too-cliched stock images? What actually awaits eager visitors, clutching their maps and postcards of a traffic jam of sheep? The author makes a journey around contemporary Ireland. Starting in Dublin, he roams south and west along the coast, before heading north over the border to find the now-derelict home of his great-grandfathers. Driving and walking, by train, bus and thumb, as he goes he meets everyone from Anglo-Irish gentry to new-age travellers; from hardline IRA men to terrorists from the UFF; from Frank the goat-catcher to Dana the aspiring president. By the end he has learnt many things, one above all: you'll never understand the Irish!
Sold into Marriage: One Girl's Living Nightmare by Sean Boyne (Paperback; 6.99 IRP / 11.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
This book is the true story of a 16 year-old Irish girl sold by her father as a bride to an elderly farmer for money, a Morris Minor car and the promise of land! A shocking account of cruelty, greed, domination. The trading of a girl-for-money is followed by abuse, force isolation and absolute control. It robbed her of her youth, scarred her for life. Nobody managed to prevent this terrible event happening. Some tried, but failed. Others simply went silently along with it. This book reveals a story of life beyond imagination. This did not happen in the Dark Ages. It happened in Ireland in the 1970s. This woman is now in early forties.
State Violence: Northern Ireland 1969-1997 by Raymond Murray (Paperback; 9.99 IRP / 15.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
In this book the author chronicles the abuse by the British state of emergency laws; harassment and intimidation of civilians; injuries and deaths caused by rubber bullets; collusion between British security forces, British intelligence and loyalist paramilitaries; unjust killings and murders by the security forces; excessive punishments and degrading strip-searching in prisons - abuses ignored by all but a handful of individuals and civil rights organisations. According to the author, it is necessary for the British government to acknowledge that over the past 28 years it acted unlawfully and immorally, in the murders of innocent people, in ill-treatment in interrogation centres and in corruption of the legal process. The author is a well-known crusader for human rights and this is a fascinating and frightening book.
A Dictionary of Hiberno-English edited and compiled by Terence Patrick Dolan (Hardback; 19.99 IRP / 30.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
Hiberno-English is the name given to the Irish dialect of English. It differs from Standard English on two principal counts. First, it is a hybrid dialect, full of borrowings from the Irish language, with words or phrases imported directly or in anglicised form. The second strand comprises words obsolete in Standard English but still commonly used is Ireland. In this pioneering work, Professor Dolan has prepared an accessible one-volume dictionary of Hiberno-English.
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