Read Ireland Book News
Issue 91
Irish Language
The Story of the Irish Language by Edward Purdeon (Paperback; 4.99 IRP / 7.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
The Irish language, like most Irish institutions, has a long, complicated and controversial history. From its beginnings 1500 years ago as the language of the 4th century Celts, it has gone through many normal linguistic (and some abnormal political) changes until its present position as the beleaguered but lively contemporary modern Irish. The history of the language is inextricably linked with that of the country. As a badge of nationality it was something to be suppressed by the conqueror and preserved by the people on their long march to freedom. This has made the story of its fortunes from its classical glory through mediat in Teilific na Gaeilge as fascinating as any other in our rough island'' history. This book covers the development of the Irish language from Ogam to Modern Irish, including key topics such as the 17th and 18th-century literature of the oppressed, Conradh na gaeilge and the Celtic Revival, government policy from the foundation of the state to the contribution to Irish literature of 20th century literary giants such as Ocadhain, Odireain and Oriordain.
í Siúd by Siobhán Ní Shúilleabháin (Paperback; 6.50 IRP / 9.50 USD) [Add To Basket]
Léiriú ar an teannas idir an seandearcadh dúchasach agus an meon nua-aoiseach, nua-aimseartha, comhaimseartha; an tuiscint nua-aoiseach á sealbhú ag an bpobal scaití, scaití eile an pobal ag seasamh ina haghaidh. Léiriú ar shaol dheireadh na fighiú aoise mar a fheictear do Shiobhán Ní Shúilleabháin é atá sa chnuasach seo, ar an saol laethúil, ar mheon an duine, agus ar thichar an athrú saoil ar an meon sin. Dearcadh pobal I leith an té a thagann chun cónaithe ina measc, I leith an strainséara, agus tionchar an té sin ar an tsúil a bhíonn ag daoine le hais na súile a bhíodh ag an dream sin a chuaigh rompu. Insint bheoga thailneamhach atá faoi na scéalta seo, stíl shaibhir reacaireachta Siobhán Ní Shúilleacháin, a peann ar a comhairle féin aici, a teanga dhúchais ag teacht léi go binn blasta.
An Chéad Chloch by Pádraic ó Conaire (Paperback; 6.99 IRP / 10.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
These eight stories, first published in 1914, are among the most remarkable of the whole Gaelic Revival. They deal with the author's recurring themes of tragic love, jealousy, betrayal and displacement. Four stories give imaginative interpretations of incidents from the New Testament. The title story gives the reimagined background to the story of the woman taken in adultery and how her executioners were force to leave when Jesus wrote on the ground: 'Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.' The remaining four stories are part-fables set in the fictious land of the Abetines. The exotic settings of the stories and their sense of mystery and latent eroticism did not endear the author to the paladins of the Gaelic Revival but they have relevance to his own career and his view of himself as an artist. (All the stories are written in Irish.)
Green English: Ireland's Influence on the English Language by Loreto Todd (Hardback; 16.99 IRP / 25.95 USD) [Add To Basket]
The English language is now the most widely spoken language on the planet. More than 350 million of us speak it as a mother tongue; a further 650 million make use of it daily, for business, education and pleasure. English has been spoken in Ireland for eight centuries and used creatively, in literature, for over sox of these. But Irish speakers did not simply adopt the English language. They grafted it onto a Gaelic stem, making it capable of expressing an Irish culture and an Irish world view. This book explores the origins and development of English in Ireland. It shows how Ireland has moulded English; how it has produced the second oldest world literature in the language; and how Irish emigrants, missionaries, teachers and writers have influenced English worldwide. Also, the book considers how the loss of the mother tongue can affect a nation's psyche and asks if 'loss' has been balanced by 'abundant recompense'.
An Béal Bocht by Myles na gCopaleen (Paperback; 6.99 IRP / 10.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
An Béal Bocht is a classic satire in Irish by one of the century's great Irish writers. This extremely funny book, with is rain-sodden peasants of Corca Dorcha who combine pretensions to proficiency in English with true 'caint na ndoaine' in the hope of impressing the insatiable Irish-language enthusiasts, was the proof that the Irish of the Revival had come of age. It earned the author the accolade bestowed upon hum by Austin Clarke: 'our Gaelic satirist' and is still a useful corrective against the native tendency to take things too seriously. (Also available in an English language edition in paperback.)
The Midnight Court (Cúirt an Mheán-Oíche) by Brian Merriman (translated by Patrick C. Power) (Paperback; 5.99 IRP / 9.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
The Midnight Court is a racy, word-rich bawdy poems that has earned it enduring popularity since it was first written by the County Clare poet around 1708. It is regarded as one of the finest pieces of comic literature in Irish and until recently was censored or bowdlerised in academic texts for its frank sexual references and anti-clericalism. The poet-narrator, who is a bachelor, is summoned in a dream to the court of Queen Aoibheall to account for his being unmarried when so many women are longing for love. The women who accompany her, and who espouse the values of sensuality and fertility, give long entertaining diatribes on celibacy and loveless (sexless) marriages. The narrator wakes as he is being severely chastised by the women. The poem gives an excellent picture of rural Ireland in the late 18th century, and its feminism and enunciation of celibacy, inclusing that of the clergy, make it seem contempory. The translation endeavours to come as near as possible to the rural attitudes and style that are so much a part and parcel of the flavour of the original.
An Prionsa Beag (The Little Prince) by Antoine De Saint-Exupery (Paperback; 4.95 IRP / 7.00 USD) [Add To Basket]
The classic story translated into Irish by Breandán ó Doibhlin.
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