Read Ireland Book Review
Issue 169
The Irish Famine: A Documentary by Colm Toibin and Diarmaid Ferriter
Hardback; 21.00 IEP / 25.50 USD / 16.99 UK / 26.70 EURO; Profile Books; 214 pages [Add To Basket]The demesne house Yeats celebrated has gone, with its ambiguous legacy of the Great Famine. 'Nothing now roots where the house once stood is cemented over, as though to contain uneasy spirits in the foundations.' This remarkable book raises those ghosts - in a collaboration between an award-winning writer and an historian. Colm Toibin's essay on the Famine was acclaimed on its original publication as 'not just an absorbing many-sided view of the Famine but also a useful critique of the writing of its history.' To that text, revised, Diarmuid Ferriter added, linked and introduced a wide-ranging selection of documents - journalism, reports, state papers, statistics, letters, petitions … This unique book opens a door to a new and deeper understanding of the Great Irish Famine.
Poems 1968-1998 by Paul Muldoon
Paperback; 18.20 IEP / 22.50 USD / 13.99 UK / 23.20 EURO; Faber; 480 pages [Add To Basket]Drawing on Muldoon's eight major collections, this book allows readers old and new to take the full measure of the writer whose 'influence on the otherwise torpid aesthetics of post-war poetry alone makes him the most significant English language poet born since the Second World War' (Times Literary Supplement).
The Island of Saints and Scholars by Sean McMahon
Paperback; 4.99 IEP / 6.00 USD / 4.00 UK / 6.35 EURO; Mercier Press; 96 pages [Add To Basket]Ireland has long been known as a place of religion and learning. From the sixth to the twelfth centuries, Irish monks went as saints and scholars, in voluntary exile. They founded monasteries in Pictish Scotland and in the violent territories between the Sein and the Rhine. Their influence was felt from Iceland to Sicily and as far east as Kiev, and when their work of Christianising Europe was safely accomplished, they became scholars at the courts of the Carolingian kings. This book presents an overview of the missionary work by the Irish abroad and provides an alphabetical guide to the people, places and works of this golden age.
The Minstrel Boy: Thomas Moore and His Melodies by Sean McMahon
Paperback; 4.99 IEP / 6.00 USD / 4.00 UK / 6.35 EURO; Mercier Press; 96 pages [Add To Basket]Thomas Moore (1779-1852), the pocket-sized tenor who was the darling of English aristocratic drawing rooms as he sang the 'wild songs of his dear native plains', was a true Irish patriot. A gifted poet whose first published work was a version of the erotic odes of Anacreon, he created lyrics that, matched to traditional Irish airs, made his name famous throughout the English-speaking world even in his own lifetime. This book offers a short, readable account of Moore's life and includes the lyrics of a number of his Irish Melodies.
Celtic Spirituality by Maria Buckley
Paperback; 4.99 IEP / 6.00 USD / 4.00 UK / 6.35 EURO; Mercier Press; 96 pages [Add To Basket]In recent years Celtic spirituality has attracted a great deal of interest: it has been regarded as a manifestation of a world religion that can be seen as separate from Christianity as well as being linked to it. In pre-Christian Ireland, the Celts had their own sophisticated rituals of worship, in which elements such as the seasons, astronomy, nature and the Celts' perception - as a farming people - of the bounty of the earth all played a part. This succinct and informative book examines the Celts' belief systems and links them to the development and growth of Christianity in Ireland.
A History of Sex and Morals in Ireland by Aongus Collins
Paperback; 4.99 IEP / 6.00 USD / 4.00 UK / 6.35 EURO; Mercier Press; 96 pages [Add To Basket]This Irish have always had a tortuous relationship with sex. The Brehon Laws, according to which Gaelic society was organised until the decline of the old order in the sixteenth century, were noted for their liberal stance on polygamy and divorce. By contrast, this era was followed by the asceticism of the Celtic Church in the age of saints and scholars. In modern times, the Church has been rocked by sex scandals and Irish society in general has undergone something of a sexual revolution. In this entertaining and illuminating book, the author surveys changing attitudes to sexual and moral issues in Ireland from the earliest days to the present day.
Celtic Music edited by Kenny Mathieson
Paperback; 22.50 IEP / 27.50 USD / 18.99 UK / 28.30 EURO; Backbeat Books; 192 pages, with b/w photos [Add To Basket]This comprehensive guidebook covers all that is Celtic Music today. Essays feature both traditional and new kinds of Celtic and Celtic-influenced music by leading as well as lesser-known performers. These essays explore solo artists, bands, singers, and players of Celtic music's specialized instruments, including harps, pipes, fiddles, drums, squeezeboxes, whistles, mandolins, guitars and more. Performers profiled range from rock-influenced group Clannad, to Welsh band Ar Log, Brittany group Gwerz, singer Christy Moore, harpist/piper/singer Alan Stivell, and many more. Reviews guide readers to the essential recordings as well as unexpected discoveries for any new or established Celtic collection.
Celtic Daily Prayer from the Northumbria Community
Hardback; 28.00 IEP / 34.50 USD / 20.00 UK / 37.60 EURO; HarperCollins; 826 pages [Add To Basket]First published in 1994, this classic book helps makes daily prayer a worthwhile spiritual voyage of exploration.
All Ireland Ambitions by John Scally
Paperback; 8.99 IEP / 11.00 USD / 7.50 UK / 11.50 EURO; Wolfhound Press, 224 pages [Add To Basket]The rich history of the GAA is filled with great players and glorious victories. However, while for every great All-Ireland victory there is a trophy, not every great player realises the dream of an All-Ireland medal - they are heroes of the game nonetheless. In this book the author has compiled a diverse range of personal profiles of such magnificent men and women form every province of Ireland.
Mapping Ireland: From Kingdom to Counties by Sean Connors
Paperback; 9.99 IEP / 12.50 USD / 8.50 UK / 12.70 EURO; Mercier Press, 93 pages [Add To Basket]This is the first book dedicated to explaining Ireland's counties. It contains a wealth of fascinating and little-known facts such as the origin and meaning of our county names and the names of the old baronies within each county. It also incorporates an index of over 500 family names showing the clans most associated with each region. The maps in this collection are replicas taken form a 300-year old original and show Ireland as it was when the thirty-two counties were first completed. Full colour throughout.
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