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Saturday, October 08, 2005

Read Ireland

Shipbuilding in Waterford, 1820-1882 by Bill Irish Large Format Paperback; 40.00 Euro / 50.00 USD / 30.00 UK; 270 pages, with black-and-white illustrations throughout Bill Irish’s story of the Waterford shipyards highlights the role of Quakers as entrepreneurs, and particularly as risk-takers, who were willing to fund new enterprises, providing rare economic relief to underdeveloped areas without the guarantee of a good return on their investment—a rarity in Ireland, and a glimpse or reminder of what might have been. Their shipbuilding ventures in Waterford were as technologically advanced as any similar development of the day, and they certainly primed and brought to fruition the industrial revolution on the banks of the Suir. Shipbuilding in Waterford is illustrated with a large range of line etchings, lithographs, oil paintings, photographs, movie stills and video images, which on their own would constitute an invaluable historical record; coupled with the meticulously researched text, they make the book an important addition to our understanding of Ireland’s industrial and cultural history. ---------------------------------- Read Ireland Book News – Issue 322 ---------------------------------- James Connolly: A Full Live by Donal Nevin (Hardback; 30.00 Euro / 36.00 USD / 24.00 UK; 850 pages) 'Hasn't it been a full life, Lillie, and isn't this a good end?', were James Connolly's last words to his wife in Dublin Castle in the early hours of May 12, 1916 shortly before his execution in Kilmainham Jail. The first fourteen years of Connolly's life were spent in Edinburgh and the next seven years in the King's Liverpool Regiment in Ireland. In 1889, he returned to Edinburgh where he was a socialist activist and organiser for seven years. In 1896, at the age of 28, he was invited to Dublin as socialist organiser, founding the Irish Republican Socialist Party and editing "The Workers' Republic". During seven years in America between 1903 and 1910, Connolly was in turn active with the Socialist Labor Party, organiser for the IWW ('Wobblies') and a national organiser for the Socialist Party of America. Returning to Ireland in 1910 as organiser of the Socialist Party of Ireland, Connolly was appointed Ulster Organiser of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union by James Larkin, succeeding him as acting general secretary in October 1914. As Commander of the Irish Citizen Army, Connolly joined with leaders of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in the Easter Rising in 1916, becoming Commandant-General of the Dublin Division of the Army of the Republic and Vice-President of the Provisional Government of the Irish Republic. ------------------------------------------ Nationalism and the Irish Party: Provincial Ireland 1910-1916 by Michael Wheatley (Hardback; 75.00 Euro / 90.00 USD / 50.00 UK; 295 pages) John Redmond's constitutional, parliamentary, Irish Party went from dominating Irish politics to oblivion in just four years from 1914-1918. The goal of limited Home Rule, peacefully achieved, appeared to die with it. Given the speed of the party's collapse, its death has been seen as inevitable. Though such views have been challenged, there has been no detailed study of the Irish Party in the last years of union with Britain, before the world war and the Easter Rising transformed Irish politics. Through a study of five counties in provincial Ireland - Leitrim, Longford, Roscommon, Sligo, and Westmeath - that history has now been written. Far from being 'rotten', the Irish Party was representative of nationalist opinion and still capable of self-renewal and change. However, the Irish nationalism at this time was also suffused with a fierce anglophobia and sense of grievance, defined by its enemies, which rapidly came to the fore, first in the Home Rule crisis and then in the war. Redmond's project, the peaceful attainment of Home Rule, simply could not be realised. -------------------------------------- Balrothery Poor Law Union, County Dublin, 1839-1851 by Sinead Collins (Paperback; 10.00 Euro / 13.00 USD / 7.00 UK; 64 pages) The Balrothery Poor Law Union served most of north Co. Dublin which in the 1830s was a rural, agricultural area with almost no industry. The main source of employment was an agricultural labourers of whom there was an over-supply due to the continuing growth in population and the transition among the large farmers from tillage to grazing. The Poor Enquiry, established in 1833, carried out an in-depth examination of the area and found there much distress. Its findings are narrated. The establishment of the union, the building of the workhouse and life in the workhouse are described. The Famine years are dealt with in detail. The efforts of the guardians and landlords to cope with the crisis and the effects of the Famine years on the area are also examined. ------------------------------------------ Smithfield and the Parish of St. Paul, Dublin, 1698-1750 by Brendan Twomey (Paperback; 10.00 Euro / 13.00 USD / 7.00 UK; 64 pages) In the 1720s William Hendrick was the leading property developer in the Smithfield area of Dublin. The civic administration of the area at this time was largely within the jurisdiction of the local Church of Ireland vestry of St Paul’s parish of which Hendrick was a member. The book analyses the physical development and the civic administration of Smithfield in the first half of the 18th century. It also gives short biographies of a number of the leading members of the local Protestant elite in this period. --------------------------------------- The Liberty and Ormond Boys: Factional Riot in 18th Century Dublin by James Kelly (Paperback; 10.00 Euro / 13.00 USD / 7.00 UK; 64 pages) This study of factional disorder sets the Liberty and Ormond Boys in the contemporary context. The conditions necessary to enable factions to develop and flourish in Dublin were in place by the 1720s, when the city was sufficiently developed physically and demographically to sustain the local and sectoral identities that faction required. Nonetheless, the growth of faction could not have taken place without the breakdown in the authority of the guilds or in the absence of recreational patterns that validated violence. Beginning with the emergence of the Kevan Bail in 1729, the city was periodically racked over the following sixty years by busts of violence as the contending factions sought to establish which was dominant. As the best known and most enduring, the interlinked histories of the Ormond and Liberty Boys provide the centre piece of this book, but the histories of a host of lesser known factions from all parts of Dublin city and county are examined. ------------------------------------------- Love Life: Poems by Micheal O Siadhail (Paperback; 13.00 Euro / 16.50 USD / 9.00 UK; 118 pages) In "Love Life", one of our most thoughtful and accomplished poets finds a fresh intensity and reach. In four sequences Micheal O'Siadhail tells of a life in love moving through the passionate erotic, the dramas of wooing, promising and quarrelling and the day-by-day of home. The seasons of love unfold - young love opening to intimacy, growth into commitment and the slow transformations of life together. Throughout, the core theme recurs: a lifetime's amazement at the mystery of one woman. The book culminates in the subtleties and variations of growing old while revelling in the love of life a deux. ------------------------------------- Pieces of Me: A Life-in-Progress by Roisin Ingle (Paperback; 10.00 Euro / 13.00 USD / 7.00 UK; 414 pages) 'The prospect of taking over the 'Regarding Ireland' column scared me witless. If they'd changed the title to 'Regarding Reality TV' or even 'Regarding Roisin', I might have been slightly more enthusiastic. But only slightly ...' Despite her initial reluctance, Roisin Ingle's weekly column in "The Irish Times Magazine" has been enjoyed by thousands of readers over the last three years. In her disarmingly open style - always humorous, often deeply affecting - she muses on life, love and everything in between. Collected together for the first time, the columns are accompanied by new writing in which she reflects on the death of her father, her failed marriage, her unlikely path into journalism and her long-standing love affair with Borza's fish and chips. From her self-destructive years to her spiritual adventures to the summer she found love again in the middle of a Portadown riot, she writes about the journey so far with all the tenderness, humour and honesty her fans have come to expect. "Pieces of Me" will stir, engage and delight readers who will often find their lives reflected back through her pen. ------------------------------------ Traditional Irish Embroidery: Mountmellick Work by Sandra Counahan (Large Format Paperback; 15.00 Euro / 18.00USD / 10.00 UK; 140 pages, with illustrations throughout) This is a practical how-to book for beginners and skilled embroiderers. It covers every aspect of Mountmellick Work, using clear instructions, diagrams and photographs. --------------------------- Now Available in Paperback: --------------------------- Tom Barry: IRA Freedom Fighter by Meda Ryan (15.00 Euro / 20.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 480 pages) The story of Tom Barry's life, peppered by his battles with the State and Church, and his constant endeavours to obtain an All Ireland Republic makes him a unique and important figure of Irish history. In 1949 when he addressed huge crowds in New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Boston, his voice rang out - 'My one aim is to unite the Irish people - one race...The Border will not fade away, or the Partition will not be ended until such time as the united strength is used in a supreme effort to get rid of it.' It details his involvement on the fringes of the Treaty negotiations; his Republican activities during the Civil War; his engagement in the cease-fire/dump-arms deal of 1923; his term as the IRA's Chief-of-Staff and his participation in IRA conflicts in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s right up to his death in 1980. ------------------------------------- Oh, Play That Thing by Roddy Doyle (10.00 Euro / 13.00 USD / 7.00 UK; 376 pages) It's 1924, and New York is the centre of the universe. Henry Smart, on the run from Dublin, falls on his feet. He is a handsome man with a sandwich board, behind which he stashes hooch for the speakeasles of the Lower East Side. He catches the attention of the mobsters who run the district and soon there are eyes on his back and men in the shadows. It is time to leave, for another America-Chicago is wild and new, and newest of all is the music. Furious, wild, happy music played by a man with a trumpet and bleeding lips called Louis Armstrong. His music is everywhere, coming from every open door, every phonograph. But Armstrong is a prisoner of his colour; there are places a black man cannot go, things he cannot do. Armstrong needs a man, a white man, and the man he chooses is Henry Smart. -------------------------------------- Highlights from the Previous Issue: ----------------------------------- Dublin Cinemas: A Pictorial Selection by Jim Keenan (Hardback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 20.00 UK; 130 pages, with black-and-white photos throughout) This book features many of Dublin’s oldest and best-loved cinemas. The images evoke memories of an earlier pre-television era when each suburb had its own local cinema, and seven cinemas graced O’Connell Street. Most of these old cinemas have long since vanished, but this pictorial compilation records a selection of them for posterity. It includes not only the luxurious downtown venues, but also may of the city’s notorious ‘flea-pits’. While most of the photographs are of cinema facades, some show the ornately-designed interiors. The magnificent, original auditoria of two Super Cinemas, the Theatre Royal and the Savoy, are particularly well illustrated. The book is also illustrated with maps, advertisements and photographs of cinema staff. Augmented with short commentaries, the book provides a valuable record of local history of some of Dublin’s most memorable cinemas. ----------------------------------- Padraic Fallon: A Poet’s Journal & Other Writings 1934-1974 edited by Brian Fallon (Hardback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 20.00 UK; 336 pages) Poet and playwright Padraic Fallon (1905-74) was an active and prolific reviewer-critic in the leading Irish periodicals of his day. He wrote principally for Dublin Magazine, The Bell and The Irish Times where he was befriended by its famous editor R.M. Smyllie. He came to know the leading Irish literary figures of his time - Yeats, George Russell (AE) and most especially Austin Clarke, with whom he shared a serious engagement with the Gaelic literary tradition. The essay-reviews here include his influential 'Poets' Journal' from The Bell, with connective pieces on Synge, Yeats, AE, O'Casey, F.R. Higgins, James Stephens, Graves, Pound, MacNeice, Kinsella, Hughes and Larkin, salted by others on the Elizabethan playwright Cyril Tourneur and Ibsen. In this interpretive work he proves himself a lucid, eloquent modernist of the first order. This volume, marks the centenary of Fallon's birth in Athenry, Co. Galway. It is introduced and edited by his son, The Irish Times critic and writer Brian Fallon, who has also edited his father's Poems and Versions (1983), Collected Poems (1990) and Collected Plays (2005). ----------------------------------- The Disappearing Irish Cottage by Clive Simmons and Seamus Harkin (Large Format Paperback; 18.00 Euro / 24.00 USD / 12.00 UK; 100 pages, with full colour illustrations throughout) The subject matter of this study -- the fate of vernacular Irish cottages -- although essentially regional in emphasis (north Donegal) -- is, in the authors' opinion, a matter of national concern, if not scandal. Large numbers of these former 'jewels' of the Irish countryside are disappearing yearly; so that now few exist even as ruins. Sadly, in some cases misguided planning policies of local authorities and past lack of any conservation provisions has hastened their demise, particularly with the controversial advent of 'bungalow' bliss' and one-off building in the Irish countryside, which is in effect, the other side of the coin. In an ideal world, this profusely illustrated study should have been done at least twenty years ago to record what in such a short time has now been lost for ever. For it is unlikely that the time-consuming structural methods of the past -- and the mining and preparation of local materials such as flags and slates -- will ever come about again; so that, for example, a slate roof deliberately removed or collapsed from neglect is a roof most likely gone for ever. The Irish countryside is undoubtedly the worse for this process;and in time, if not already, it will in the authors' view impinge adversely on the tourist industry -- the 'Irish cottage' featuring in the famous John Hinde photographs now being very hard to find in the rural parts of Ireland. It is, therefore, the aim of this small study to tell, with photographic evidence, a tale which could be replicated in any part of the Atlantic fringe of Ireland, recording before it is finally lost what little remains of this important part of Irish tradition. Hopefully in so doing it may prick the consciences of officialdom and others to act to save this vital part of Irish heritage. ---------------------------------------- Navan Fort, County Armagh: Archaeology and Myth by Chris Lynn (Hardback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 20.00 UK; 130 pages) Navan Fort, Co. Armagh, is owned by the Department of the Environment and is managed by the Environment and Heritage Service. At intervals over a period of some 40 years the staff of the Department have carried out, collaborated in and sponsored archaeological survey, excavation and research into this famous site and the monuments in the surrounding landscape. This book is an attempt to provide a straightforward summary of that work and includes an account of one of the most interesting and intriguing archaeological excavations carried out in Ireland. The site of the legendary and 'far-famed' Emain Macha (now known as Navan Fort) has been known from before the beginning of Irish history. There is a possibility that some of the legends associated with it have come down to us from a time when such myths were a part of everyday life and religion. In the myths and legends of the Ulaidh (the 'Ulstermen') Emain is portrayed as a royal headquarters, the capital of a warlike aristocracy and a place of assembly for the people occupying the northern quarter of Ireland. Early Irish myth and legend are of great interest because they preserve elements of a prehistoric tradition that have not survived elsewhere. This book attempts to tell the story of the excavations at Navan Fort and more recent discoveries in the area. It is a personal account, coloured by first-hand experience, and is told in a matter-of-fact way, in the hope that the significance of the rapid series of discoveries leading to unexpected conclusions will keep interest alive. Navan Fort is often said to be Northern Ireland's most significant prehistoric site, and the excavation and fieldwork that have taken place over the last 40 years have made a significant contribution to our understanding of the date and purpose of this magnificent monument. ---------------------------------------- Irish Country House Cooking: The Blue Book Recipe Collection by Georgina Campbell (Hardback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 20.00 UK; 175 pages, with colour illustrations throughout) The fourth edition of this popular book gives a new range of best-loved recipes from over forty historic Irish country houses, country hotels and restaurants throughout the country: Establishments featured are members of the premier association of country houses, The Irish Country Houses and Restaurants Association ('The Blue Book'), which is committed to the highest standards of accommodation, food and hospitality. The Blue Book is a member of the European Federation of Historic Houses This completely new edition reflects changing times in the hospitality industry: three of Dublin's top restaurants are now Blue Book members, thus elegant dishes from L'Ecrivain, Chapter One and Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud are included: Classic Country / City Chic! Recipes celebrate the natural riches of Irish land and sea that influence the cooking at these premier establishments: local seafood, freshwater fish, game, fruit, vegetables, herbs and farmhouse cheeses are all featured, often from their own gardens, farms and rivers --------------------------------------- Made in Belfast by Vivienne Pollock and Trevor Parkhill (Trade Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 25.00 USD / 13.00 UK; 130 pages, with black and white illustrations throughout) In 1900 Belfast had the world’s biggest linen factories and its largest ropeworks. Its shipbuilding industry produced more tonnage than any other city’s - Titanic and Olympic were both built here. But it was also home to clockmakers, printers, musical instrument manufacturers, engineers, tobacco manufacturers, glassworks, lemonade makers, builders, biscuit makers and car manufacturers. They all feature in Made in Belfast. Drawing on the unique collections of the Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland, this is a photographic record of the city at work. ------------------------------------- The Irish Writer and the World by Declan Kiberd (Large Paperback; 23.00 Euro / 28.00 USD / 16.00 UK; 330 pages) "The Irish Writer and the World" is a major new book by one of Ireland's most prominent scholars and cultural commentators. Declan Kiberd, author of the award-winning "Irish Classics" and "Inventing Ireland", here synthesises the themes that have occupied him throughout his career as a leading critic of Irish literature and culture. Kiberd argues that political conflict between Ireland and England ultimately resulted in cultural confluence and that writing in the Irish language was hugely influenced by the English literary tradition. He continues his exploration of the role of Irish politics and culture in a decolonising world, and covers Anglo-Irish literature, the fate of the Irish language and the Celtic Tiger. This fascinating collection of Kiberd's work demonstrates the extraordinary range, astuteness and wit that have made him a defining voice in Irish studies and beyond, and will bring his work to new audiences across the world. ---------------------------- Famine by Liam O’Flaherty (Paperback; 12.00 Euro / 15.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 430 pages) Dublin the Great Famine of the 1840s over three million Irish people lost their lives or were forced to flee the country. This classic novel tells the story of three generations of the Kilmartin family as they fight to survive. It is a story full of human tragedy, courage and passion. --------------------------------- December Bride by Sam Hanna Bell (Paperback; 12.00 Euro / 15.00 USD / 10.00 UK; 262 pages) A classic of Ulster life by one of the twentieth-century’s greatest writers. Sarah Gomartin, the servant girl on Andrew Echlin's farm, bears a child to one of Andrew's sons. But which one? Her steadfast refusal over many years to ‘bend and contrive things' by choosing one of the brothers reverberates through the puritan Ulster community, alienating clergy and neighbours, hastening her mother's death and casting a cold shadow on the life of her children. ----------------------------------- Irish Highwaymen by Stephen Dunford (Paperback; 13.00 Euro / 15.50 USD / 10.50 UK; 242 pages) True stories of the brigands,rapparees and Highwaymen of history. The life and times of fifteen of Ireland`s most notorious adventurers are told here; audacious ambushes,sword and gun battles with land lords and military,daring escapes,hideouts and disguised identities,plots,betrayals and raids - and sometimes brutal ends by hanging,beheading and gunfire. --------------------------------- 1690: The Battle of the Boyne by Padraig Lenihan (Paperback; 20.00 Euro / 25.00 USD / 14.00 UK; 240 pages) On 1 July 1690 some 23,000 soldiers of the deposed King James II peered anxiously through morning mist towards the River Boyne below them. These Jacobites were mostly Irish Catholics reinforced with grumbling Frenchmen sent by the Sun King, Louis XIV. But William of Orange's much larger army of English, Dutch, Huguenots, Scots and Germans was already stirring. Beset by plots in Britain and reverses on land and sea, William needed to crush the Jacobite army on the spot. Why, then, after he sent part of his army to cross the river upstream, didn't William trap and annihilate the Jacobites? Does the fact that James fled from the battlefield, and Ireland, make the Boyne consequential and decisive? His flight was in sharp contrast to the carefully crafted image of William as a fearless and inspirational warrior-king. The Boyne was, and is, politically potent: how many other battles are commemorated every year? Yet it was militarily indecisive. The largest battle in Irish history, it concluded the English War of Succession, the Irish and French-backed James II being defeated by William III securing a Protestant monarchy in England. -------------------------------------- Thank you for your continued support. It is vital for the continuation of this service! I respectfully request that if you are considering ordering any of these books that you do so through Read Ireland. I very much appreciate your patronage. To order books from the Read Ireland Book Review – simply return the Newsletter by clicking your reply button. Please delete the books you do not want and leaving the books you want to order. Alternatively, you can send an email to the order department at: gregcarr@readireland.ie Please be sure to include your mailing address and credit card details. You can of course also post your order to: Read Ireland, 392 Clontarf Road, Clontarf, Dublin 3,Ireland. Telephone and Facsimile number is: +353-1-853-2063. Read Ireland Web Site Home Page: http://www.readireland.ie or http://www.readireland.com We have added a new feature to the Read Ireland website. It is a page listing ONLY the newest books added to or updated on the website. This new feature page will itself be superseded at least 3 times per month. It is the perfect way to keep abreast of what is happening in the world of Irish Interest publishing. Please visit often! If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you very much for your continued support and custom. Sincerely, Gregory Carr @ Read Ireland
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