Read Ireland Book Reviews
Issue 423
Bear in Mind These Dead by Susan McKay
Large Format Trade Paperback; Publishers Recommended Price 20 Euro. Read Ireland Price 16 Euro / 22 USD / 11 UK; 412 pages
Nearly 4,000 people were killed over the thirty or so years of the Northern Irish Troubles. And the killings were as intimate as they were brutal. Neighbours murdered neighbours. Susan McKay's book explores the difficult legacy of this conflict for families, friends and communities. By interviewing those who loved the missing and the dead, as well as some who narrowly survived, McKay gives a voice to those who are too often overlooked in the political histories. Old enemies are now in government together in Belfast, and the killing has all but stopped, but peace can only endure if the dead can finally be laid to rest. "Bear in Mind These Dead" is a moving and important contribution to that process.
Written in Stone: The History of Belfast City Cemetery by Tom Hartley
Large Format Trade Paperback; 15 Euro / 22 USD / 11 UK; 256 pages with black-and-white photographs throughout [Add To Basket]
This history of Belfast City Cemetery reflects the history of Belfast itself, charting as it does the major events and personalities as well as the attitudes and social conditions that have prevailed over the years. In this book the author tells the stories behind the names that grace the tombs and gravestones in which is regarded as a predominantly Protestant cemetery in an overwhelmingly Catholic neighbourhood.
Newgrange by Geraldine and Matthew Stout
Large Format Trade Paperback; 20 Euro / 30 USD / 14 UK; 120 pages with full colour photos throughout
Newgrange is simply the best example of a passage tomb in Western Europe and its solstice phenomenon, in particular, has made it famous throughout the world. It is also conveniently located only an hour from Dublin. While it is the best-known ancient site in Ireland, many aspects of Newgrange are not clearly understood, other aspects are just taken for granted. As two archaeologists with a lifetime of experience in the Boyne Valley we shared with most visitors the same uncertainties about the tomb; why is there a three metre high quartz wall around its entrance, how does the roof box work, what was the inspiration for its art and architecture? We chose to write this book in order to present our own personal interpretation of an intricate and often hotly debated story. This book is arranged in such a way as to replicate a visit to the site. It pauses over points of art and construction that the visitor will not have had time to examine in detail on a conventional guided tour."Newgrange" is the synthesis of years of excavation and research at home and abroad; from the detailed reports stemming from the excavations of M.J. O'Kelly to current international debate about its construction and reconstruction. This is the first book on Newgrange to draw on O'Kelly's private papers and to incorporate the results of more recent and as yet unpublished excavations. This book will clarify many complex issues that have been addressed in widely scatted fora, using original illustrations to assist the reader. It places the monument in its broader cultural context. Our search for the origins of Newgrange took us to Brittany, Iberia (Spain and Portugal), Malta, the Orkney Islands and Wales and has enriched our understanding of its place in European prehistory. (Also available in Hardback, priced at 40 Euro)
Irish Agriculture: A Price History by Liam Kennedy and Peter Solar
Hardback; 30 Euro / 40 USD / 20 UK; 206 pages [Add To Basket]
Prices affect the living conditions of millions of people, hence their importance for an understanding of the past. In "Irish Agriculture: A Price history", Liam Kennedy and Peter Solar consider what was until relatively recently the principal means of livelihood for the majority of the country's population, shedding light on some major controversies in Irish history: the impact of the French wars, the significance of the Great Famine and the origins of the Land War.Prices and price change offer insights into people's behaviour in the past, and not just their economic behaviour. They help illuminate issues as diverse as production patterns, prosperity and famine, political and agrarian agitation and even such intimate detail as the timing of marriage. As the historian David Fischer has asserted: 'The history of prices is a history of change. 'The underlying data in this work, the product of more than ten years of archival research, are some 20,000 bimonthly price observations from the period 1755-1914 that have been processed into annual price series. The prices and price indices presented here furnish building blocks for historians and historically minded social scientists engaged in writing Ireland's history. This work also opens the way to more systematic comparisons of Irish and European economic experience, be it in terms of price inflation, living costs, market integration or market disintegration.
Strangers to Citizens: Irish on the Move 1600-1800 by Mary Ann Lyons and Thomas O’Connor
Large Format Paperback; 20 Euro / 28 USD / 14 UK; 160 pages, with full colour and black-and-white photos throughout
This book explores the formative phase in Irish immigration history, from 1600 to 1800, when contintental Europe was the main destination for tens of thousands of Irish migrants. This vast transfer of people, resources and skills, involving individuals of all backgrounds, enriched Europe at a pivotal moment in its long process of political and economic modernisation. It also exposed Irish migrants to new ideas and opportunities, and on their visits back to Ireland these migrants carried home valuable cultural and intellectual baggage. Over two centuries, the ‘outsider’ Irish achieved ‘insider’ status in countries as diverse as Spain and Sweden and came to exercise influence both at home and abroad. Theirs is one of the great human stories of early modern Europe and an emblematic moment in the universal chronicle of peoples on the move. This book offers an insight into their lives and times.
Queen’s Thinkers: The Intellectual Heritage of a University edited by Alvin Jackson and David N. Livingstone
Trade Paperback; 17 Euro / 23 USD / 12 UK; 205 pages [Add To Basket]
Queen's University Belfast has been part of the fabric of the island of Ireland for almost two centuries. Over that period Queen's and the people associated with it have made a vital contribution to the intellectual life of both the local community and the wider global community. This collection of essays, edited by distinguished scholars Alvin Jackson and David Livingstone, brings together an eminent panel of academics to celebrate the intellectual heritage of the university and to assess its impact on the international world of scholarship and on society more generally. From renowned physicists John Stewart Bell and Sir David Bates to historians and geographers J.C. Beckett and E. Estyn Evans and literary giants such as Helen Waddell and Philip Larkin, this volume charts the intellectual life of Queen's University, telling the compelling story of the thinkers who established it as a world-class institution.
Beijing for Beginners: An Irishman in the People’s Republic by Gary Finnegan
Large Format Trade Paperback; 16 Euro / 22 USD / 11 UK; 236 pages [Add To Basket]
I hand over my entrance form to a young but tough-looking official. 'First time in China?' 'Yes.' 'Push green button.' The front of the desk has four buttons lighting up. Two green, two red. The first green one says 'very satisfied' and has a picture of a very happy face. The second says 'satisfied' with a slightly less ecstatic, but still moderately content smiley face. The third button is red. It reads 'not satisfied' and the face looks somewhat downbeat. The last option is a miserable-looking 'very dissatisfied'. Above the range of smileys is a question: 'How satisfied are you with the welcome you received in Beijing?' 'Eh...I'll be teaching at a...' 'Push green button!'I push the green button, the one with the smiliest face of all. And that's that. I'm in. No doubt there'll be a news story at the end of the year claiming 99 per cent of tourists are delighted with the reception they get in China. There is no fifth option saying 'airport is nice, but do something about the spitting...'. Faced with choking smog, chaotic traffic and locals who have a penchant for public spitting, Gary Finnegan finds himself in the world's fastest changing city.
His attempts to adjust to an altogether alien culture make for an often hilarious travelogue, peppered with fascinating insights into Chinese history and its transforming society. From Chairman Mao to the recent surge in IVF and plastic surgery clinics, Finnegan attempts to understand modern China and learns a little about himself along way.However, he begins with more questions than answers: Can he survive without Western comforts? Is the new consumerist China still communist? And why are people calling him Big Nose? As the attention of the world focuses on China, "Beijing for Beginners" is ideal for anyone curious about the most populous nation on earth, and the weird and wonderful things on offer for a foreigner grappling with serious culture shock.
Left for Dead: The Untold Story of the Tragic 1979 Fastnet Race by Nick Ward
Trade Paperback; 11 Euro / 15 USD / 8 UK; 280 pages [Add To Basket]
The Fastnet Race is the world famous yacht race from the Isle of Wight to the Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland and back. The race of 1979 began in perfect weather conditions but within 48 hours, the deadliest storm in the history of modern sailing struck off the south coast of Ireland. By the time it had passed, the havoc caused was immeasurable. Even more devastating, it had mercilessly taken the lives of fifteen sailors.It had been Nick Ward's childhood ambition to sail in the Fastnet Race, and after being asked to join the crew aboard the 30-foot yacht Grimalkin it was a dream come true. But then the storm hit. Grimalkin was capsized again and again, the skipper was lost overboard and after hours of struggle, three of the crew decided to abandon the boat for the liferaft. Nick and his fellow crewmember Gerry, both injured and unconscious, were left on the beleaguered yacht in the middle of the Irish Sea. Both were presumed dead, and were taken off the priority list for rescue. Gerry died a few hours later, and Nick was left to face the storm alone.Now available as a paperback, Left for Dead is the tragic and inspirational story of Nick Ward's survival against all the odds. It is the story of an ordinary man who survived an extraordinary event. It was an experience which affected him so deeply that for over 25 years his story has remained untold - until now.
Christy Ring: Hurling’s Greatest by Tim Horgan
Large Format Trade Paperback; 18 Euro / 27 USD / 14 UK; 370 pages, with black-and-white photos throughout [Add To Basket]
Christy Ring from Cloyne, County Cork, is regarded as the greatest hurler of all time. He won eight senior All-Ireland medals and eighteen Railway Cup medals in his 24-year career before retiring from inter-county hurling aged 43. He always tried to do the impossible and against him no game was won until the final whistle. His mastery of the skills of hurling was equalled only by his dedication to Cork. Tim Horgan traces Christy's playing career with its many highlights and captures his unique charisma that excited and attracted people to him. He pays due respect to Christy s opponents and the drab conditions in which all lived and played. Included are Ben Kiely's report on Christy playing at the opening of Casement Park, Belfast, in 1953, and a fascinating interview before the 1953 All-Ireland. It is a lively, affectionate account of Christy Ring s lifelong commitment to hurling, embellished with many previously unpublished photos, memories of great players, personalities and glorious games won and lost.
Dick Fitzgerald: King in a Kingdom of Kings by Tom Looney
Large Format Trade Paperback; 20 Euro / 30 USD / 15 UK; 300 pages, with black-and-white photos [Add To Basket]
Killarneyman Dick Fitzgerald 1884-1930) is a football legend. He wrote and published the first ever GAA coaching manual How to Play Gaelic Football (1914). Fitzgerald, who played for Killarney's Dr Croke's club, won five All-Ireland medals for Kerry - including being the first player to captain back-to-back All-Ireland-winning teams in 1913 and 1914. He was also a member of the Irish volunteers, interned in Frongoch after the Easter Rising of 1916. He died tragically after a fall from Killarney courthouse two days before the Kerry-Monaghan All-Ireland final of September 1930. Kerry went on to win that final. Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney, named after Dick Fitzgerald, was completed six years after his death and the All-Ireland hurling final of 1937 was played there as a mark of respect to him King in a Kingdom of Kings includes a reproduction, in facsimile, of How to Play Gaelic Football.
Miami Showband Massacre: A Survivor’s Search for Truth by Stephen Travers and Neil Fetherstonhaugh
Paperback; 10 Euro / 14 USD / 7 UK; 390 pages [Add To Basket]
Winner of the Irish World Literary Prize for 2007. In the early hours of 31 July 1975, The Miami Showband was stopped at a military checkpoint. As they were held at gunpoint outside their WV minibus, a bomb that unknown to the band members was being loaded on to their bus exploded prematurely destroying the bus and catapulting the band members into a nearby field. As Stephen Travers lay seriously wounded in the field he listened to the cries of his friends as they were mercilessly gunned down and the steps of the gunmen getting closer... Here is his story. What is it like to survive such an atrocity? To live when those around you die? Now, Stephen Travers remembers the highs and lows of being in one of the most successful showbands of the 1970s and how it all ended in a terrifying moment. In a moving and honest quest for truth and reconciliation, he tries to come to terms with what happened as he looks for the answers as to why his friends were killed. Stephen wants to understand but will he find the answers when he meets the men responsible for the massacre face to face?
Ireland Burning by Paul Cunningham
Large Format Paperback; 14 Euro / 19 USD / 10 UK; 320 pages [Add To Basket]
How Will Climate Change Affect You? Climate change is the biggest threat to the world today. Rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns are already creating havoc in parts of the world. The issue has been hotly debated by experts and policy-makers; it is now widely accepted that human activity has played a crucial part in climate change. Nobody now denies the urgency of the situation. But how will climate change affect Ireland? What do we know about climate change? What is happening now? What will happen in the future, and what can we do about it? RTÉ's Environment Correspondent Paul Cunningham takes us on a tour of Ireland, meeting people whose lives and livelihoods have already been affected or will be affected in the future farmers whose lands have been flooded and who find their crops threatened by unseasonal weather; coastal residents whose homes are in danger of collapsing into the sea; and ordinary parents whose children will bear the cost of our actions today. He also speaks to Ireland's leading weather and climate experts and campaigners, who paint a realistic picture of what lies in store for us over the coming decades; businesses whose responsibility for leading change is as big as their carbon imprints; and Environment Ministers, former and current, Noel Dempsey and John Gormley. Cunningham looks at the proven facts and the various scenarios that may be played out. Finally, the author sums up what we can do to prevent disaster on a local and global scale. Ireland's Burning is a highly readable, accessible book that addresses an issue that is not going to go away.
Irish Songs: Traditional
Pocket Paperback; 7 Euro / 10 USD / 5 UK; 100 pages [Add To Basket]
This book is a selection of Ireland’s best-known songs. They range in theme from songs of love and longing to drinking songs and patriotic feeling. They all share the lyrical and spirited appeal that makes Irish songs popular the world over. The song words are accompanied by music and chord notation and are complemented by evocative photography.
A Beginner’s Guide to Ireland’s Wild Flowers from the Sherkin Island Marine Station
Pocket Paperback; 8 Euro / 12 USD / 6 UK; 208 pages, with full colour photos throughout [Add To Basket]
This book introduces the many common wild flowers around Ireland. It includes colour photographs of 162 wild flowers and their common, scientific and Irish names, with clear and simple descriptions, including colour, size and habitat.
Please note: Prices were correct at time of original posting but are subject to subsequent change without notice.
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