Read Ireland Book Reviews
Issue 525
5 December 2011
Pre Christmas Double Issue
An Informed Laity, A Reformed Irish Church by Sean Mac Gabhann
Large Format Paperback; 15 Euro / 20 USD / 11 UK; 186 pages
Written by an Irish missionary priest, it's the first to tell the laypeople things they have rarely if ever heard before. In a down-to-earth and conversational manner, the author points out their dignity and potential. He informs them that they are not members of the Church: that they are the Church. They are not potential mystics but mystics with potential – sleeping mystics! His book is an attempt to awaken them to the truth, believe in themselves and make a lasting impact on a dying Irish Church.
He assures the laypeople that they have nothing to feel guilty about even though some bishops have laid a guilt trip on them. In speaking of the 'Church' needing to make reparation for the sex-abuse scandals they are ipso facto including the laypeople. But the laypeople have not abused one bishop or priest. It is the guilty priests and bishops (the latter of covering up) who must make reparation. The laity can stand tall and hold their heads high in this appalling mess that is not of their making.
By informing, educating and enlightening the laypeople about their God-given rights, the writer affirms them. They, more than the bishops and priests themselves will bring about the much needed reform of the leaders. It is the laity who will hold the latter to accountability. Apologies and handouts are only the beginning. We have yet to hear a bishop or priest spell out in detail how he is reforming his own personal life. This is where real conversion must take place.
The author reminds the laypeople that they have actually begun reforming the leaders. In going public with their heart-rending accounts of abuse the laity are exposing the corruption of leaders that otherwise would never have come to light of day. While a dark heavy cloud hangs over the Irish Church the author sees hope. He believes the laypeople are the silver lining. His book will inspire them to believe in themselves and push forward with urgent reform.
Enigma: A New Life of Charles Stewart Parnell by Paul Bew
Hardback; 25 Euro / 30 USD / 20 UK; 256 pages [Add To Basket]
Charles Stewart Parnell is the most enigmatic figure in Irish history. An Anglo-Irish landlord from a distinguished and long-established Wicklow family, he became the most unlikely leader of Irish nationalism imaginable. He hated the colour green. He was not a dynamic speaker. He was cold and aloof and lacked the popular touch. None the less, from the late 1870s until his fall and death in 1891, he held the whole of Ireland spellbound. He established Home Rule for Ireland - previously a taboo subject in British politics - at the centre of Westminster affairs and effectively created the modern Irish state in embryo. His fall was as dramatic as his rise. The affair with Mrs Katharine O'Shea, the mother of his three children, destroyed him. Ever since this fall and his premature death in 1891, Parnell has remained a remarkably potent symbol, particularly in times of crisis and conflict in Ireland. The myth has obscured the man and makes it difficult for us to see Parnell as he really was. Paul Bew presents a completely new interpretation of this fascinating and enigmatic man.
The Reluctant Taoiseach: A Biography of John A. Costello by David McCullagh
Large Format Paperback; 17 Euro / 23 USD / 13 UK; 544 pages
John A. Costello remains the most elusive of our former Taoisigh, despite his enormous contribution to Irish history. He declared the Republic, led the country's first ever coalition government, and faced the Mother and Child Crisis. A surprise choice who battled against taking the job, Costello was the Reluctant Taoiseach. Historian and political correspondent David McCullagh charts the life of this fascinating man, using his personal archive of papers, as well as interviews with former colleagues, family and friends. McCullagh offers new insights into a political career which stretched from Independence to the end of the 1960s, including the Commonwealth Conferences of the 1920s, to the new Constitution of 1937, and Governments in the 1940s and 1950s. Politician, barrister, Attorney General, politician, family man - The Reluctant Taoiseach takes a fresh and revealing look at the life of a man at the centre of politics and law during one of the most turbulent periods in Irish history.
Fianna Fail: A Biography of the Party by Noel Whelan
Hardback; 25 Euro / 30 USD / 20 UK; 320 pages [Add To Basket]
The Fianna Fail Party was founded in 1926 and first came to Government in 1932. From that date until 2010, it has completely dominated the political life of the Republic of Ireland. For all but 13 of those 78 years, it has formed the Government of Ireland, either on its own or as the dominant party in a coalition. Fianna Fail has always seen itself as more than a party. Its self image has been that of a national movement, one that represented the nation in microcosm and superseded partisan and regional prejudices. While holding this view of itself, it also managed to be the most ruthlessly, successful and professional party machine in Europe. Noel Whelan, the distinguished political commentator and columnist, is steeped in the Fianna Fail tradition. In this book, he traces the party's fortunes from its foundation by Eamon deValera and Sean Lemass in the 1920s through the economic war of the 1930, war time neutrality and stagnation of the 1950s. Lemass's Governments of the 1960s, generally regarded as the best in the history of the State, restored the Country's fortunes, but the 70s and 80s were locust years dominated by the divisive and charismatic figure of Charles J. Haughey. Under the later leadership of Bertie Ahern, party divisions were healed, and it seemed that national divisions were healed with them. An economic boom was allowed recklessly to run out of control with the result that the party, having brought Irish prosperity to a new peak, was then blamed for the sudden violence of the crash. The general election of 2011 reduced Fianna Fail to its lowest ebb since it was founded. It may not have marked the end of the party, but it clearly marked the end of an era that began in 1932.
Broken Landscapes: Selected Letters from Ernie O’Malley, 1924-57 edited by Cormac O’Malley
Hardback; 40 Euro / 50 USD / 30 UK; [Add To Basket]
Ernie O'Malley was a revolutionary and a writer. One of the leading figures in the Irish Independence and civil wars, he survived wounds, imprisonment and hunger strike. This book tells of his journeys afterwards in Europe and the Americas. O'Malley moved in wide social circles that included Paul Strand, Hart Crane and Jack Yeats. He was a close friend of John Ford, and worked on "The Quiet Man". Back in Mayo he established a small farm. Marrying Helen Hooker, an American heiress, he had three children before a bitter separation. O'Malley established his literary reputation with his magnificent memoir, "On Another Man's Wound". For the first time, this new collection of letters, diaries and fragments opens the broad panorama of his life to readers. In doing so it enriches the history of Ireland's troubled independence, reflecting on loss and reconciliation. It links the old world to the new: O'Malley perched on the edge of the Atlantic, a folklore collector, art critic and radio broadcaster. O'Malley travelled through Italy, the American south-west, Mexico and points in between. In Taos, he mingled with the artistic set around D.H. Lawrence. He drank with Patrick Kavanagh, Liam O'Flaherty and Louis MacNeice. The young painter Louis le Brocquy was a guest at Burrishoole. These places and people stayed with O'Malley in his private writing, collected here from family and institutional archives. Reading these letters, diaries and fragments is to see Ireland in the tumultuous world of the twentieth century, as if for the first time.
Tony Gregory: A Biography by Robbie Gilligan
Large Format Paperback; 20 Euro / 25 USD / 16 UK; 256 pages [Add To Basket]
This is the biography of a true Irish political legend. As harsh economic times return to Ireland, it is time to celebrate this inspirational Irishman who made his name as a grass-roots community activist and went on to hold the balance of power in Ireland. Tony Gregory's political life has left an exceptional legacy. Robbie Gilligan has talked to the whole 'kitchen cabinet' and covers his whole career, from local agitator to elected politician, and the campaigns from 1978-2009.
Rory McIlroy: The Biography by Frank Worrall
Large Format Paperback; 11 Euro / 15 USD / 9 UK; 288 pages [Add To Basket]
Rory's amazing amateur career saw him conquer Ireland and Europe before topping the World Amateur Rankings in 2007. But he really came to prominence with his superb opening three-under-par 68 in the 2007 Open Championship at Carnoustie. He went on to accept the Silver Medal as leading amateur. Despite high expectations, Rory keeps a cool head on his young shoulders and lets his golf do the talking. In 2008 he entered the elite of the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings and his maiden victory came in the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic where he endured a nail-biting final hole. His final breakthrough came when in June 2011 he won his first major, the US Open at Congressional Country Club in Maryland, USA. Rory finished on an amazing total of sixteen under par to seal his place among the golfing greats.
Wogan’s Ireland: A Tour of the Country That Made the Man by Terry Wogan
Hardback; 22 Euro / 27 USD / 18 UK; 224 pages
In a magical mix of the personal and the political, the humorous and the tragic, the historic and the modern, we follow Terry Wogan on his return to his native land. Terry left Ireland in the late 1960s, after a childhood in Limerick and early career in Dublin. In Wogan's Ireland we see through Terry's eyes how the country has changed. He rediscovers its rugged coastline and the spectacular views he remembers from childhood holidays. He revisits old haunts, hooks up with long-lost friends, colleagues and fellow ex-pats, enjoying the nostalgia evoked by these experiences. But he doesn't shy away from the more complicated responses that led him to seek his fortunes elsewhere. During the course of Wogan's Ireland he also explains why he had to leave it all behind. Imbued with Terry's inimitable style - witty and urbane, relaxed yet engaging - this book stands as a fitting tribute not only to a beautiful, complex and contradictory nation, but to one of the BBC's longest-standing and most popular personalities.
The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue
Large Format Paperback; 14 Euro / 19 USD / 11 UK; 416 pages [Add To Basket]
After a separation of many years, Emily 'Fido' Faithfull bumps into her old friend Helen Codrington on the streets of Victorian London. Much has changed: Helen is more and more unhappy in her marriage to the older Vice-Admiral Codrington, while Fido has become a successful woman of business and a pioneer in the British Women's Movement. But, for all her independence of mind, Fido is too trusting of her once-dear companion and finds herself drawn into aiding Helen's obsessive affair with a young army officer. When the Vice-Admiral seizes the children and sues for divorce, the women's friendship unravels amid accusations of adultery and counter-accusations of cruelty and attempted rape, as well as a mysterious 'sealed letter' that could destroy more than one life . . . Based on blow-by-blow newspaper reports of the 1864 Codrington Divorce, The Sealed Letter, full of sparkling characters and wicked dialogue, is a thought-provoking mystery and gripping drama of friends, lovers and marriage. (Also available in Hardback, published at 20 Euro).
Window & Mirror: The History of RTE 1961-2011 by John Bowman
Hardback; 25 Euro / 30 USD / 20 UK; 256 pages
December 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast by RTÉ television and Irish culture and society were irrevocably changed. Window and Mirror presents a critical overview of the national television station, an insider s warts and all account of RTÉ and its fifty-year history. The infant service became a significant player in Irish politics, culture and media, the voice of the nation through some turbulent recent periods and key moments in many areas of life. Contentious issues covered include: RTÉ s relationship with the Church, the GAA, the Government, the effect RTÉ had on the Irish language and coverage of Northern Ireland. Also discussed is controversial and influential programming, from investigations into clerical abuse and money lending, to the The Riordans, a pioneer in serial drama. RTÉ was not only a window on the wider world but also a mirror to Irish society. Photographs, cartoons, documents, and other graphics, many not seen before, help capture key moments. Window and Mirror highlights how RTÉ television had and continues to have unparalleled influence on Irish society.
The Horse in Irish Society by David O’Flynn
Oblong Hardback; 25 Euro / 30 USD / 20 UK; 100 pages [Add To Basket]
Throughout the ages the horse has played a pivotal role in Irish society. It is a ubiquitous symbol in Ireland, present in many classic depictions of our culture, from loyal work horse to traditional horse fairs. Over a twelve-month period, David O'Flynn has collected a varied selection of images of the Irish, in these and other less cliched guises, and discusses how the horse's role has mirrored the change in Irish culture as Ireland developed into a modern society. While focusing on a central theme, David O'Flynn has collected an incredibly diverse number of striking photographs, ranging from elegant shots taken at the annual show jumping at the RDS to images of the milling crowd at the horse fair in Ballinasloe. Through these photographs he has created an informal and unique portrait of the Irish. This book is essential for lovers of horses and for lovers of beautiful photography.
The Kinanes: A Remarkable Racing Family by Anne Holland
Paperback; 11 Euro / 15 USD / 8 UK; 256 pages [Add To Basket]
The Kinanes - stalwarts of Irish racing Regarded by many as the perfect jockey, Mick Kinane rounded off his thirty-four-year career on a dazzling high with champion horse Sea The Stars, winning the 2,000 Guineas, Epsom Derby, the Eclipse Stakes, International Stakes, Irish Champion Stakes and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 2009. However, Mick is just one member of several generations of Kinanes who have consistently excelled in professional horse racing: through grit, talent and a legendary work ethic. The backbone of Irish racing over the past fifty years, this is the story of a clan that includes National Hunt jockey Tommy, who won the Champion Hurdle on Monksfield and who once won a race despite a broken neck, and his sons Thomas, Jayo, Paul and of course Mick. The family has its roots in simpler and indeed harder times; this book tracks their rise to the pinnacle of their sport on the world stage. Illustrated with family and racing photographs.
JFK in Ireland: Four Days That Changed a President by Ryan Tubridy
Large Format Paperback; 14 Euro / 19 USD / 10 UK; 320 pages [Add To Basket]
In his first book, award-winning radio and TV presenter Ryan Tubridy tells the fascinating story of the iconic president John F Kennedy's visit to Ireland. The idolized, handsome and glamorous John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the great-grandson of Irish immigrants and the first and only Irish-Catholic American elected as President of the United States. He relished his Irish heritage and in June 1963 made a memorable four-day trip to his homeland, which he called the best 'four days of his life'. Tragically, five months later he was assassinated. In this fully illustrated book, Tubridy reveals the huge effect JFK's visit had on Ireland - a country that at the time was largely agrarian and extremely poor. He includes never-seen-before photos of the president and private documents that reveal how the Irish rejoiced in having a president visit their shore. Tubridy evaluates whether the well-loved president, whose 'Camelot' years some believe would have heralded a golden age, actually inspired Ireland to reinvent itself and instilled pride in the Irish people, or whether the myth of JFK just left behind an idyllic dream of what could have been. This book is a fascinating, unique and insightful read from one of Ireland's most popular personalities. (A few hardback copies remain available, priced at 25 Euro)
Please note: Prices were correct at time of original posting but are subject to subsequent change without notice.
Gregory Carr, Independent Bookseller
Read Ireland
392 Clontarf Road
Dublin 3
Ireland
Tel + Fax: +353-1-853-2063
Customer Services Comments, Criticism and Questions
Subscribe to Read Ireland Book News - Our Free Weekly Email Newsletter