Read Ireland Book Review
Issue 183
The Irish College at Lisbon, 1590-1834 by Patricia O'Connell
Hardback; 35.00 IEP / 41.50 USD / 30.00 UK / 44.50 EURO; Four Courts Press, 148 pages [Add To Basket]The Irish College at Lisbon was set up in 1590, under a board of Portuguese noblemen in conjunction with exiled Irish Jesuits, to provide a seminary for secular priests in the Portuguese capital during Penal times. The book relates the main events in the colourful story of the institution and its survival through war, earthquake and even suppression (in 1759 under the government of the Marques de Pombal, chief minister to King Jose) for over 200 years. The former college building still stands in a beautiful corner of old Lisbon and now functions as a municipal courthouse.
Last Before America: Irish and American Writing edited by Fran Brearton and Eamonn Hughes
Paperback; 16.50 IEP / 19.00 USD / 14.00 UK / 21.05 EURO; Blackstaff Press, 233 pages [Add To Basket]This elegant literary collection celebrates the influence of Michael Allen on both writers and critics during his teaching career at Queen's University, Belfast. Taking as their starting point literary and cultural interweavings and relationships between Ireland and America, the distinguished contributors examine ideas of exile and return, loss and compensation, and presence and absence. The collection contains new poems by Ciaran Carson, Seamus Heaney, Michael Longley, Medbh McGuckian and Paul Muldoon. It also includes a reminiscence from Bernard Mac Laverty and fiction from William Wiser. Essays from, among others, Elmer Kennedy-Andrews, Richard Kirkland, Edna Longley and Peter McDonald offer critical accounts of contemporary Irish poetry and fiction as well as appraisals of American literary and cultural contexts. Themes include censorship in the Irish Free State, Ulster Protestantism and culture, Romantic legacies in poetry, cultural cosmopolitanism in Ireland and America, and reflections on the practice of literary criticism itself.
Oxford Book of Irish Short Stories edited by William Trevor
Paperback; 14.00 IEP / 17.50 USD / 12.50 UK / 18.80 EURO; OUP, 568 pages [Add To Basket]Ireland has long been a nation of storytellers. What began as a lively form of entertainment has grown into an unrivalled literary genre. Although Ireland mourned the loss of the 'seanchai', the old hearthside story-teller, the Irish art of story-telling is by no means lost. This varied anthology traces the development of the Irish short story from the early folk-tales of the oral tradition through Oliver Goldsmith, Maria Edgeworth, James Joyce and Liam O'Flaherty, and on to the stars of the modern generation, such as Bernard Mac Laverty and Desmond Hogan.
In the Service of Peace: Memories of Lebanan edited by Brendan O'Shea
Paperback; 10.99 IEP / 13.50 USD / 8.99 UK / 14.00 EURO; Mercier, 224 pages [Add To Basket]This book contains the story of what Irish soldiers said and did in Lebanon for 23 years. Every memory recounted is steeped in the history of the region and the savage, multidimensional war which raged there for a quarter of a century. In this collection of memories, the men and women of Irishbatt speak for themselves, expressing the joy, sorrow, frustration and pain they experienced while wearing the blue beret and working in the service of peace.
Spring, Summer and Fall: The Rise and Fall of the Labour Party 1986-1999 by Ray Kavanagh
Paperback; 10.00 IEP / 12.50 USD / 8.50 UK / 12.70 EURO; Blackwater, 236 pages [Add To Basket]In 1986 Ray Kavanagh gave up his job as a schoolteacher to become General Secretary of the Irish Labour Party. In doing so he took on the onerous task of building up a demoralised membership while having to deal with a divided and hostile Parliamentary Party as well as a number of internal dissidents. Now back in teaching, Kavanagh pulls no punches in this frank and informative account of the rise and fall of the party from 1986 to 1999 under the leadership of Dick Spring. He recalls the taming of Labour left, the mergers with the DSP and Democratic Left, the successful presidential campaign of 1990 and the ousting of the militant faction. Tales of Spring's autocratic style of leadership, personality clashes, tensions within the party, and interesting revelations about how the party conducted business make for a lively and informative portrait of a political party in transition.
Fear of the Collar: My Terrifying Childhood in Artane by Patrick Touher
Paperback; 8.99 IEP / 11.00 USD / 7.50 UK / 11.50 EURO; O'Brien Press, 272 pages [Add To Basket]The Artane Boys' band was a familiar sight on the field of Croke Park at every All-Ireland Final. But behind this striking image lies a story of hardship, continuous labour, never-ending hunger, cruelty and sexual assault. Sent to Artane at seven years of age, the author of this book was soon to learn the tough ways of the regime of education and training, prayer and punishment, strict discipline and fearful nights. No allowances were made for emotion, sentiment or boyhood worries. Anything that disturbed the routine was a source of punishment. Artane demanded obedience, absolute submission. Originally published in 1991, this new updated edition is the inside story of the memories etched forever on the soul of one of Artane's boys.
The Limbo Vigil by Gareth O'Callaghan
Paperback; 6.99 IEP / 8.00 USD / 6.00 UK / 8.90 EURO; Poolbeg, 552 pages [Add To Basket]This book is a thriller which follows the life of David Freeman, a man who has found peace and a new life in Martha's Vineyard. Ten years ago he was forced to leave Ireland, driven out by his violent wife and a town that conspired against him. Now, barely twenty-four hours after a devastating phone call informs him that his daughter Molly as attempted suicide, he boards a plane bound for home. This time he cannot run away. If he is to save his daughter he must expose the truth … a truth that is evil and many lead to his own destruction.
Shame the Devil by Mary McCarthy
Paperback; 10.00 IEP / 12.50 USD / 8.50 UK / 12.70 EURO; Poolbeg, 336 pages [Add To Basket]Amy Kennedy, partially dressed, lies on top of a creased duvet. Her eyes are half- open. A year after her mother's death, her depression threatens to engulf her. Her mother's cruel and violent tones still rage in her head. 'No tears, no tears now or I'll give you something to cry about.' She is alone. A letter arrives. It is addressed to her mother. Vague childhood memories are stirred. Desperate to emerge from the blackness, the contents of the letter fire Amy to embark on a dangerous journey, that she hope will uncover the awful secret that destroyed her mother's life … and ruined her childhood.
A Living Word compiled by Jacqui Corcoran
Paperback; 10.00 IEP / 12.50 USD / 8.50 UK / 12.70 EURO; Townhouse, 200 pages [Add To Basket]Each morning on traffic-jammed car radios, through earphones on commuter trains, in the hurry of the early-morning home, RTE's 'A Living Word' is a source of sustenance for countless people assailed by a relentless, information-jammed, fast-paced routine. The basis for A Living Word is simplicity itself: a short meditation or observation, spiritual or secular, which makes people pause and reflect at the start of a new day. This collection compiled from the radio programme, reflects the wide range of its appeal.
In the Vine Country by Somerville and Ross
Paperback; 10.40 IEP / 13.00 USD / 8.99 UK / 13.20 EURO; Vintage, 237 pages [Add To Basket]This classic book, first published in 1893, remains an irresistible gem. By the esteemed authors of 'Some Experiences of an Irish R.M.', in this book they tour the Medoc country, where they discover the pleasures of the harvest - a glass of mout, freshly trodden by the peasants and garlic kisses from their hostess. Then to a grand chateau, where they establish themselves as 'Les Anglais pour rire' by their sorry attempts to speak French. Mistresses of ironic wit and precise observation, this is Somerville and Ross at their most genial and open.
The Best Irish Quiz Book Ever
Paperback; 10.40 IEP / 13.00 USD / 8.99 UK / 13.20 EURO; Carlton, 320 pages [Add To Basket]This captivating quiz book will really put your knowledge to the test. But here's what makes it difficult - it specialises in facts about Ireland and Irish life. There are 6000 questions split into three distinct levels of difficulty. Each section is divided into 100 individual quizzes, each containing 20 questions on all manner of subjects.
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