Read Ireland Book Review
Issue 146
Irish History
An Unsung Hero: Tom Crean - Antarctic Survivor by Michael Smith (Hardback; 25.00 IEP / 30.00 USD / 20.00 UK) [Add To Basket]
Tom Crean ran away from home as a youth and become one of the most indestructible heroes in Antarctic exploration. He played a central role in the dramatic events on three out of four British expeditions in the Heroic Age of Polar exploration. He served Scott and Shackleton - both bitter rivals - and outlived them both. This book reveals how he volunteered for Polar exploration, was one of the last to see Scott alive before his ill-fated expedition reached the South Pole, and how he returned to bury him in the snow a month later. Tom Crean played a leading role in Shackleton's legendary 'Endurance' expedition, sailing the small open James Caird across the violent Southern Ocean, and in the historic crossing of South George's glaciers. The book is illustrated with photographs.
The Irish World: The History and Cultural Achievements of the Irish People edited by Brian de Breffny (Paperback; 18.95 IEP / 22.50 USD / 16.50 UK) [Add To Basket]
First published in 1977, this classic book is still the only book to cover the whole of Irish culture with such erudition and in such glorious illustrations. Eleven leading scholars and writers trace the story of Ireland, its history, cultural mores, religion and politics through the ages, covering every peak and trough of its often turbulent past. With essays on prehistoric Ireland, the early Irish Church and its masterpieces of manuscript illuminations, the Viking invasions, the disturbed Middle Ages, the Protestant Ascendancy, the Celtic revival in art, poetry and drama, and the Irish in America. The book presents the whole of Ireland: the dark side as well as the light; the greatness as well as the suffering; the enduring victories as well as the humiliating defeats.
Faith or Fatherhood? Bishop Dunboyne's Dilemma by Con Costello (Paperback; 13.99 IEP / 16.50 USD / 12.00 UK) [Add To Basket]
This book is the story of John Butler, Catholic Bishop of Cork, 1763-1787. In 1786, he inherited the title of Lord Dunboyne. There had been successive Lords of Dunboyne ever since the twelfth century. Determined that the title should not be lost, he resigned his bishopric, married and conformed to the Established Church. In so doing, he broke his vows and professed his unbelief in, among other things, the Real Presence. Trusting to his famous name and lineage, he expected the Pope of the day, Pius VI, to dispense him from his vow of celibacy and validate his marriage. His petition was turned down. He was accused of treachery, of being a modern Pharaoh whose heart had been hardened, a latter-day Henry VII destined surely for the hot place. And, sadly, an heir eluded him. This book recounts the tale made up in equal measure of scandal, fun, and profound poignancy.
To Hell or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland by Sean O'Callaghan (Hardback; 15.99 IEP / 19.00 USD / 13.50 UK) [Add To Basket]
Between 1652 and 1659, over 50,000 Irish men, women and children were transported to Barbados and Virginia. Until now there has been no account of what became of them. The motivation for the initial transportation of the Irish was expressed by King James I of England: 'Root out the Papists and fill it (Ireland) with Protestants.' The author's search began in the library of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society and its files on Irish slaves. The author for the first time documents in this book the history of these people, their transportation, the conditions in which they lived on the plantations as slaves or servants, and their rebellions in Barbados.
Cooper's Ireland: Drawings and Notes from an Eighteenth-Century Gentleman by Peter Harbison (Hardback; 25.00 IEP / 35.00 USD / 20.00 UK) [Add To Basket]
The 'real' job of Austin Cooper (1759-1830), as one of His Majesty's civil servants working out of the Treasury in Dublin, might not have been the most romantic occupation. Yet it was this position and the travel it involved that enabled the young man to indulge the greatest passion of his life: sketching the ancient buildings and monuments of Ireland. From 1781 to 1793, this dedicated and prolific artist focuses on Ireland's castle, abbeys, churches and round towers, both complete and ruined, and filled two albums with beautifully executed pen-and-ink drawings. Today these albums bequeth to us a detailed collection of topographical drawings of well-loved sites, such as Cashel and Monasterboice, but also many lesser-known monuments that he came across in his travels. The significance of this collection lies less in its artistic quality than in ins importance as a document of the times.
A History of Gaelic Football by Jack Mahon (Hardback; 14.99 IEP / 18.00 USD / 12.75 UK) [Add To Basket]
This book is the first comprehensive history of the Irish national game of Gaelic Football to be published in modern times. The game was codified in the 1880s on the foundation of the Gaelic League Association. Prior to that, a series of local rough-and-tumbles, usually known by the generic name of 'caid', had been played throughout Ireland. The new codified game, played with a round ball that could be handled and kicked, contains elements of soccer, rugby and Australian Rules football. At its best it provides a thrilling spectacle of high catching, long kicking and clever passing.
The Wartime Broadcasts of Francis Stuart 1942-1944 edited by Brendan Barrington (Paperback; 10.00 IEP / 12.00 USD / 8.75 UK) [Add To Basket]
In January 1940, shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, the Irish novelist Francis Stuart moved from county Wicklow to Berlin where he accepted a university lecturing position. He remained in the Third Reich for the duration of the war, and between 1942 and 1944 he made over 100 broadcasts on German radio to Ireland. Herein are published the complete surviving transcripts of Stuart's broadcasts. While Stuart often referred to himself as a 'neutral' uninterested in making propaganda, the talks were consistent with the broad thrust of German wartime propaganda to Ireland, and took an often fiercely anti-Allied line. Stuart spoke repeatedly of the necessity of a united Ireland, and suggested that a German victory could bring this about. He also spoke warmly of his admiration for the German people.
A View from Above: 200 Years of Aviation in Ireland by Donal MacCarron (Hardback; 20.00 IEP / 22.50 USD / 17.50 UK) [Add To Basket]
In 1910 came the founding of the first Irish Aero Club for amateur aviators. The year 1913 brought the Royal Flying Corps to Ireland. Later, its successor the Royal Air Force arrived, as well as the US Navy flying boats, the former operating against the IRA and the latter hunting German submarines. With the coming of international and domestic peace, the commander of Ireland's own Air Corps finally crossed the Atlantic from Europe to the United States, conquering the adverse winds that had claimed many lives. Aer Lingus, the national airline, was nurtured at Baldonnel, and flying boats were based at Foynes at the mouth of the River Shannon. This book describes how Ireland was involved in, and witnessed many of the great milestones of flight. It also tells the story of Aer Rianta and Ireland's modern airports, and looks at the challenges and opportunities that face them in the future. It includes many rare and previously unpublished photographs.
Hindsights: Ten Meetings of Minds by Liam O Murchu (Paperback; 7.99 IEP / 10.00 USD / 6.50 UK) [Add To Basket]
This book is the author's account of his encounters with ten people, each of whom made a substantial mark in Irish life. Some are of recent vintage, others go back to his childhood. As a five-year-old in 1934, he sat on his brother's shoulders in a victory parade to welcome a schoolboy hurling hero called Jack Lynch back from a victorious Harty Cup final. The book is a set of pen portraits, not short biographies. The author concentrates on personal recollection, on those moments in the lives of his subjects that intersected with his own. He worked in the Department of Health when Noel Browne was the minister. As an Irish language broadcaster he came into contact with Sean O Riada and Cardinal Tomas O Fiach. He also recalls Siobhan McKenna, Sean MacEntee, Bishop Eamonn Casey, Cyril Cusack, Todd Andrews, and Charles Haughey. All are remembered shrewdly but generously. The author doesn't sit in judgement but merely remembers with warmth and affection a series of remarkable people whose paths he crossed.
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