Read Ireland Book Review
Issue 120
Celtic Ireland Gift Books
Rich and Rare: The Story of Irish Dress by Brid Mahon [Add To Basket]
The Gleninsheen gorget, one of the treasures of the National Museum of Ireland, which features on the cover of this book, is an early example of the types of personal adornment the Irish have used in their dress down the ages. In this entertaining and compact treatment, the author looks at traditional Irish clothes - whether of kings and queens, their soldiers and servants or the fisherfolk along the western seaboard - from the earliest times to the present. She examine, among other things, the way in which certain colours, such as purple, could be worn only by certain classes of people. The author has made a study of natural dyes and their use in traditional clothing; a table showing the various flora and fauna that have been used over the years to dye clothes is included.
Irish Marriage Customs by Maria Buckley [Add To Basket]
Drawing on literary, historical and folklore sources, from Mr. & Mrs. S.C. Hall in the 1840s to Kevin Danaher, the author has put together a fascinating account of how people went about the business of marriage in the Ireland of yesteryear, in a way far removed from today's expensive and commercial formalities: how matches were made; why Shrove was important; what the 'Skellings list' meant; why couples once commonly married at home; how the bride and groom travelled; what 'strawboys' and other diversions were; and, how long the celebrations lasted.
Irish Folklore by Brid Mahon [Add To Basket]
The written literature of medieval Ireland has been described as one of the earliest voices from the dawn of Western civilisation. Earlier still are the oral tradition and the oral literature, which have been passed down to our own day. The author is one of a small band of workers who, over the period of thirty-six years, helped gather what is probably the largest and most important body of folklore in western Europe. This material is now housed in the archives of the Department of Irish Folklore in University College Dublin. Writing with a succinct and readable style, the author drawn on this treasure trove of material in her accounts of the ancient sagas, the great traditions of storytelling, the attitudes of the Irish to the spirit world and the customs relating to hospitality and gracious giving.
A Guide to Irish Mythology by Maeve Walsh [Add To Basket]
The mythology of the Irish Celts, as anthropologically rich and rare as that of the Greeks and Romans, has long excited the imagination not only of the Irish but of the world at large. It has provided a rich soil for Irish literature for over two centuries, loaming the poetry of Irish bards from Mangan to Heaney. It was the source of the Literary Revival and like all mythologies it is the record of a people explaining themselves to themselves. This account, conveniently arranged in alphabetical order and cross-referenced, lists the personalities, immortal and semi-divine, the places and the magic objects that go some way to illuminate that marvellously complicated and enigmatic entity, the Irish psyche.
The Irish Famine 1845-1852 by Edward Purdon [Add To Basket]
This short account provides in a convenient and readable form the story of the disaster, its causes, the inadequate official response to it, the forced emigration that followed it and its legacy of bitterness which remains to this day.
The Civil War 1922-23 by Edward Purdon [Add To Basket]
On 6 December 1921 Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins signed the document which gave 26 counties of Ireland dominion status and a remarkable degree of political autonomy. Eight months later, both were dead and the country, which should have been celebrating its great leap forward towards freedom - was crucified by civil war. The story of this brothers' conflict, with its score of killings, torture, reprisals and long-lasting bitternesses, is told succinctly and readably in this book.
Charles Stewart Parnell by Sean McMahon [Add To Basket]
Charles Stewart Parnell, the 'uncrowned king of Ireland', remains the great enigma of Irish politics. A Protestant landlord, he was worshipped by Irish nationalists, who mourned his early death as if he had been a member of their own families. He taught the Irish MPs how to use their power in the British parliament and may have been on the point of achieving a form of Home Rule when the discovery of his secret affair with a married woman, Katharine O'Shea, caused his downfall. His death from a heart attack shortly afterwards left the Irish leaderless but still empowered to complete his work. This short book combines in readable form the story of the life and career of a remarkable Irishman.
Daniel O'Connell by Sean McMahon [Add To Basket]
Born in west Kerry to a family which retained some of the remarkable features of the old Gaelic clans, Daniel O'Connell formed himself into the leader of his people, equipping himself for the task with long hours of tedious study to turn himself into one of the most brilliant lawyers in a legal system that was horribly biased against Irish Catholics. O'Connell made tireless efforts to remove the last disabilities suffered by Catholics by constitutional means and found victory with emancipation in 1829. Although the goal of national independence eluded him, he started the process. This short and readable life of Daniel O'Connell covers the highs and lows of a giant who admitted to having very human weaknesses but managed to wear with justice and dignity the trappings of greatness.
All the books in this series are priced at 4.99 Irish pounds (about 6.50 US Dollars).
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