Read Ireland Book Reviews
Issue 463
14/15 November 2009
Going to the Well for Water: The Seamus Ennis Field Diary, 1942-46 edite dby Rionach ui Ogain
Hardback; 49 Euro / 60 USD / 40 UK; 480 pages
This is a translation of the diaries of Seamus Ennis, fulltime collector of music and song with the Irish Folklore Commission describing his day-to-day work, the people he met, the material he gathered and his constant communication with the head office of the commission in Dublin. In addition to presenting the history of folklore collecting, this book also illustrates life in the Gaeltacht during the Second World War. Although best known as a piper, Ennis was a collector par excellence. This book is a personal account of his field work during those years. This is the first publication of a diary of a fulltime collector of music and song with the Irish Folklore Commission. It paints a vivid picture of social life at the time and comments in particular on popular pastimes and other aspects of daily life.A number of entries cast light on his fieldwork methodology, which was meticulous, and his attitude towards his mission, which led him to eschew anything that had been collected frequently or learned from a book. Ennis visited a number of Gaeltachtai and this book sketches a picture of life in Donegal, Mayo, Connemara and West Clare. This collection will have particular relevance not only to those interested in Ennis as an individual, but also to all historians and scholars of Irish traditional music and folklore in the twentieth century. Despite the great entertainment Ennis enjoyed on his working trips, he had to be ever vigilant, constantly on the look out for new material and new contacts from which to elicit information.Ui Ogain captures Ennis' writing style admirably. Accounts of certain events reveal an engaged emotional intensity underscoring Ennis' firm belief that his endeavour was more than a mere job. Such vignettes render the diary eminently accessible and attractive to a general reading public, a distinction rarely achieved in this kind of publication. Maps and illustrations demonstrate the journeys undertaken by Ennis. A biographical index of the people interviewed lists the material collected from each individual. This book also provides indices of places, of music and song and a subject index.
Hidden Cork: Charmers, Chancers & Cute Hoors by Michael Lenihan
Hardback; 25 Euro / 30 USD / 20 UK; 256 pages [Add To Basket]
This is a collection of some of Cork's most interesting historical characters and incidents. In this collection, Michael Lenihan delves into the rich tapestry of Cork history to reveal some of the most bizarre events and strangest characters. From quack doctor Baron Spolasco, to the outlaw Airt O Laoghaire, Cork has seen some eccentric, wonderful and downright nasty people. With revelations of mass graves in Bishop Lucey Park and how Jonathan Swift was awarded the freedom of the city, and stories of the Gas Works' strike and the trams of the city, "Hidden Cork" opens the door on history, dumps the boring bits and brings to life the flow of time through the streets of Cork. Accompanied by a selection of evocative pictures of old Cork.
In Search of the Promised Land: The Politics of Post-War Ireland by Gary Murphy
Hardback; 30 Euro / 36 USD / 25 UK; 356 pages
This title presents a head on challenge to the prevailing view that Post-Second World War Ireland was in a state of chaos. In his book, "Preventing the Future", Tom Garvin argues that old culture, old ideas and the repression of the Church held Ireland's development in check through the 1940s and 50s. It is a widely held view that the catholic culture of the island was a check on our progress. "In Search of the Promised Land" offers a different perspective. This book argues that in fact the various administrations were open to change and new ideas. That changes in thinking at both a governmental and a non-governmental level led Ireland to adopt new and outward looking policies. That while some policy makers were reluctant to accept any form of multi-lateral trading arrangements which would alter protected industry and the country's privileged access to British markets, the severe economic crisis that affected Ireland throughout the 1950s led to the adoption of fresh economic thinking both within and outside the civil service. It was this fresh thinking that came from within the country and was championed by the people Garvin and his ilk see as holding back Ireland's progress, that eventually led to the association with Europe and the joining of the EEC. Far from holding the country back, the leadership and culture was seeking new ways to deal with the nations challenges.
Bertie Ahern & the Drumcondra Mafia by Michael Clifford & Shane Coleman
Large Format Paperback; 15 Euro / 19 USD / 11 UK; 378 pages, with an 8-page black-and-white photo insert [Add To Basket]
In March 2008, Bertie Ahern announced his resignation as Taoiseach, prompted by ongoing evidence in a planning inquiry that uncovered he had received large sums of money when minister for finance. Yet, even in defeat, he remained the most popular politician of his generation, one for whom the defining ‘Teflon Taoiseach’ tag had not entirely slid away. However, what made Bertie Ahern unique was not his enormous popularity or the revelations about his personal finances, but his dependence on a power base largely separate to Fianna Fail: ‘the Drumcondra Mafia’, a largely unknown, fiercely loyal, close-knit group of friends. When Ahern was Taoiseach the centre of power was arguably as much in St Luke’s, the legendary constituency office bought by the Drumcondra Mafia, as in Government Buildings. Bertie Ahern and the Drumcondra Mafia takes the reader inside the organisation and examines how they not only established the most efficient electoral machine in the country but put ‘their man’ in the most senior political office in the state. It also details how, in his rise to power, Ahern acquired substantial sums of money from person’s unknown, while propagating the image of a man with no interest in money. Finally, it tracks his descent with the investigation into his finances, a descent punctuated by one final victory, in the 2007 general election. This is the story not just of Bertie Ahern but of the men and women who travelled with him on his extraordinary journey.
Who Really Runs Ireland?: The Story of the Elite Who Led Ireland from Bust to Boom … And Back Again by Matt Cooper
Large Format Paperback; 18 Euro / 24 USD / 12 UK; 430 pages [Add To Basket]
Having money and not having it; making it and losing it; using it and misusing it; giving it and taking it . . . this is the story of Ireland during the boom, described in jaw-dropping detail in Who Runs Ireland? Leading journalist Matt Cooper has consistently broken stories that the powerful would prefer had not been disclosed. Now, he identifies the most powerful people in Ireland during the Celtic Tiger era, describes how they interacted with each other to mutual benefit, and reveals who are the few to retain their power amid the debris arising from the bursting of our economic bubble. In particular, Cooper focuses on the role of new-found wealth in Ireland and examines how the volume of money sloshing about influenced the exercise of power, sometimes in ways that were to the detriment of the larger society. Cooper reveals stories you will not have read before, makes the connections you may not have spotted and provides insights and explanations to stories you may have forgotten that uncover what really goes on.
Conspiracy: Irish Political Trials by Myles Dungan
Large Format Paperback; 20 Euro / 28 USD / 14 UK; 356 pages, with endflaps [Add To Basket]
"A Century of Conspiracy" will focus on the clashes, plots and perjuries that characterised seven notorious trials in Irish legal and political history (1803-1916). Each trial will show how the legal system was contaminated by a political agenda and how that agenda unwittingly incited great moments of legal drama such as the disintegration of the forger, Richard Pigott under the cross examination of Sir Charles Russell at the Parnell Commission. Read also about the trials of Robert Emmet, Daniel O'Connell and the court martials after the Easter Rising. This title is accompanied by a four-part "RTE Radio 1" series.
Judging Lemass by Tom Garvin
Hardback; 30 Euro / 38 USD / 24 UK; 300 pages [Add To Basket]
An almost mythical narrative has grown up around Sean Lemass and his short career as Taoiseach from 1959 to 1966. He was responsible for not one, but two economic revolutions in Ireland during his time in the Department of Industry and Commerce. This period marked the beginning of a long process that has transformed the island of Ireland from an agrarian province of the British Isles to a successful developed country which has been seen as a model for many aspirant underdeveloped countries. He instigated a new era in North-South relations and began the overhaul of the educational system. In "Judging Lemass", renowned historian, Tom Garvin, introduces the many facets of Sean F. Lemass - a cusp figure who ushered in the modern world; a visionary who was imagining a United States of Europe, since the 1920s; a sharp dresser with a striking film noir style; an ex-revolutionary; a city man, who regarded rural Ireland as somewhat alien and agriculture as a drag on economic development; and, above all, the architect of modern Ireland.
The Celtic Revolution: In Search of 2000 Forgotten Years That Changed the World by Simon Young
Hardback; 20 Euro / 28 USD / 15 UK; 320 pages
Large Format Paperback with 8 page full colour photo insert; 12 Euro / 16 USD / 10 UK; 300 pages [Add To Basket]
If you could go back in time, what would the Celts be like? Today we think of them as a mysterious, fringe people doomed to extinction. Some historians even question their existence. But in this riveting guide to two thousand forgotten years, Simon Young uses the latest research to show how pivotal the Celts were to the modern world. On this entertaining voyage the reader will visit the hills of ancient Rome in the company of violent mohicaned Celtic warbands - the foes most feared by the Romans. Pass into Dark Age Christendom where Celtic monks fought local lords to save Christianity s last stand in Europe, and witness their peculiar customs of curses and talking to animals. And move on to later medieval France, Germany and England where the ruthless Celtic vagabond-hero Arthur was to become the most potent mythical King of Britain and Europe s aristocracy, spelling the end of Church domination and planting the seed of free love. The result is a novel history that - based on sources in many languages - goes beyond ordinary history books and brings back to life a people as important as the ancient Greeks, the Romans or the Etruscans. While these cultures vanished, the Celts turn out to be remarkable survivors of an exotically heroic world.
An Irishman’s Cuttings: Tales of Irish Gardens and Gardeners, Plants and Plant Hunters by E. Charles Nelson
Large Hardback; 30 Euro / 40 USD / 22 UK; 214 pages, with full colour photos and illustrations throughout [Add To Basket]
An 'Irishman's cutting' in garden parlance has well-formed roots before it is detached from the parent plant. Like the garden variety, the cuttings in this book have deep roots in the gardens of Ireland and among plantsmen, of both sexes, with Irish 'roots'. These cuttings are amusing, interesting tales of gardeners, plant-hunters and plants discovered near home or in faraway places, sometimes after great hardships. There are stories of eccentric, opinionated Irish gardeners and plants they cherished, propagated and passed on. A well-stocked garden in the 1730s had oranges and lemons, Cork had a botanic garden from 1808 to 1828. The Master of Belgrove in Cork, William Robinson, publishing The Wild Garden in 1870, a beautiful lady swapping parasol covers for funckias, and Praeger botanizing in the Canaries, are among these inimitable plantsmen. Another lady described herself as an ignorant small woman with a job six times too big for herA", yet created a beautiful botanic garden in Burma. And, the biographies are retold of some fascinating plants, such as the Killarney fern, the 'last rose of summer', and the tippitiwitchet, each with an idiosyncratic Irish connection. Each essay is an Irishman's cutting in another way, having been first published in The Irish Garden magazine, for which Charles Nelson has written since 1992. They are all well rooted.
Irish Folk Medicine by Patrick Logan
Large Format Paperback; 12 Euro / 17 USD / 9 UK; 180 pages [Add To Basket]
At a time when people are increasingly interested in natural medicine and holistic remedies, this book traces the history of folk medicine in Ireland and examines its continued popularity. It reviews a comprehensive range of country cures, both for people and animals, and looks at how many remedies go back to early pagan times and before the rise of medical science in the 19th century, while others arose in the 20th century as an alternative to modern medicine. With often light-hearted humour, this guide examines how folk medicine has always been a curious blend of common sense and nonsense. From attempts to cure a child of dropsy by tying it up in a rope used to hang an innocent man, to driving away whooping cough with medicine made from sheep droppings boiled in milk, this book looks at how practical observations and natural cures often went hand in hand with useless and often dangerous remedies.
The Gaelic Athletic Association, 1884-2009 edited by Mike Cronin, William Murphy and Paul Rouse
Hardback; 30 Euro / 40 USD / 23 UK; 300 pages [Add To Basket]
This book brings together some of the leading writers in the area of Irish history to assess the importance of the GAA in Irish society since its founding in 1884 and is the first key book to centre on the GAA and Irish history. While there has been much written about the GAA, the bulk of work has concentrated on the sporting aspects of the Association - the great games and famous players - rather than the role that the GAA has played in wider Irish history. The chapters cover a large chronological span dating back to the origins of hurling, through the foundation of the GAA, its role in the political life of the nation and ending with an assessment of some of the main issues facing the GAA into the twenty-first century. Importantly the book also offers original and insightful work on areas including the class make up of the GAA, the centrality of Amateurism in the Association, the role of the Irish language and the ways in which films have featured Gaelic games.
Micheal’s GAA Odyssey: A Celebration of Gaelic Games by Micheal O Muircheartaigh
Hardback; 15 Euro / 20 USD / 10 UK; 190 pages [Add To Basket]
Since its establishment in Thurles on 1 November 1884, the GAA has born some of the most memorable and captivating events in Irish history. From the ‘Bloody Sunday’ massacre in 1920 to the lifting of Rule 42, which banned ‘foreign’ games from GAA grounds, the Association’s often turbulent history has mapped the changing political and social landscape of the Irish nation.
Yet, throughout its existence, it is the story of its games and the heroic players who graced them that resonates strongest. From the ‘Thunder and Lightning’ hurling final of 1939 to the emergence of Ulster’s first All-Ireland champions in 1960, and from Offaly’s denial of Kerry’s bid for immortality in 1982 to how Dublin and Meath’s epic four-game battle in 1991 rescued the GAA, hurling and football have produced some of the most wonderful moments in Irish sport.
Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh’s magical radio commentary has provided a lyrical and highly engaging soundtrack to those great occasions for five decades, and in Mícheál’s GAA Odyssey he provides a comprehensive guide to all things GAA. From the sublime to the ridiculous, Mícheál details the people, places and moments which have made the GAA the most unique sporting organisation in the world.
Lest We Forget: Gems of Gaelic Games and Those Who Made Them by Brendan Fullam
Large Format Paperback; 20 Euro / 28 USD / 15 UK; 350 pages, with black-and-white photos throughout [Add To Basket]
The seeds for this book were sown as Brendan filed photographs of hurlers and footballers from the papers since the 1940s. A treasured possession, he followed up by visiting and recording players memories. Paying homage to great games and heroes, epic games and star players who thrilled thousands from every decade of the GAA are recalled. The personal contributions of players and the recollections of those who knew them make fascinating reading for Gaelic games enthusiasts. For each decade since 1887 he has chosen a hurling personality, hurling game and selected his dream hurling team, a football personality, football game and dream football team. Each decade is also introduced with interesting facts. Recall and relive what hurling was like in the 1940s when Ahane and Thurles clashed in a tournament final, football when Galway played Kerry in 1938, and ponder the concept of the 1984 Centenary teams and his selections to rival them. Read about the 1947 Cavan v Kerry football final at the Polo Grounds New York and the intrigue and drama associated with it. Stars of recent decades include camogie and ladies Gaelic football players. This book ensures time will not dim the memory of the games or the names of the players that made the GAA from 1887 to the present.
In Praise of Football by Gabriel Fitzmaurice
Hardback; 13 Euro / 18 USD / 10 UK; 95 pages [Add To Basket]
This is a fun and accessible book that celebrates the universal language of all types of football. Here's a collection of poems about points, pints, goals, blockdowns, yellow cards, fans, saves, cheers, fouls, boots, trains, crowds, captains and managers...You'll also see referees that can't count, magic sponges, useless goalies, lucky half forwards, obsessive parents, supportive families, dream teams, wet Saturdays in February, sunny Sundays in September, rabbits chasing foxes, and a game of two halves in a sport that has been described as 'martial arts for Irish farmers'. The book also features some of the most memorable quotes in sporting history. A superb selection of poems which, while incredibly diverse, all have an enthusiasm, passion and insight that it is a pleasure to share...
From Brenda’s Kitchen: 100 Favourite Recipes from Brenda Costigan
Large Format Paperback with Endflaps; 20 Euro / 28 USD / 14 UK; 266 pages, with full colour photos throughout [Add To Basket]
With her no-nonsense style, accessible ingredients and balanced approach Brenda Costigan has long been a favourite of Irish cooks. Constantly aware of healthy eating guidelines, Brenda's recipes are healthy, easy to prepare and suitable for cooks of all abilities. Complimented with beautiful photography and written with busy families in mind this beautiful cookbook is full of inspiring ideas, helpful hints and foolproof favourites that will appeal to cooks of all ages and abilities.
Please note: Prices were correct at time of original posting but are subject to subsequent change without notice.
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