Ireland Books

Probably the most compelling book I have ever read. Its sheer intellectual scope is a joy to behold. A must for anyone who wishes to understand the complexity of Irish life.

Well researched and entertaining, this is the most readable work yet written on the subject of Ireland's painful progress since the early part of the century. The closing sections of Lee's opus contain some intuitive conclusions about his fellow countrymen, particularly the sections entitled 'Character' and 'Perspectives'. Scholarly guff on the subject of Ireland's breach birth and subsequent delinquency are rarely the stuff of bedtime reading but this is easy on the brain, partly due to Lee's strictly logical approach to his theme and partly because of his enormous skill as a writer. If you want a book on Ireland that doesn't read as though it were written by some OAP in a tweed G-string who hasn't seen sunlight since 1965, this is the one for you. Terrific.

It is sad that the most read Irish historian outside Ireland happens to be the Republican fellow-traveller, Tim Pat Coogan. Then, Coogan seems to aim mostly at the Irish-American market. It is sad because Coogan's bias is not widely recognised, whereas if it was, his books would probably be subjected to more than unthinking acceptance. For me, Joe Lee is by far the greater historian, and this work by him beats anything of Coogans into a cocked hat. Not that they disagree overmuch, Lee is also a Nationalist writer, but his judicious weighing of the evidence and his unblinkered and unwavering devotion to historical truth make him by far the better of the two as a writer and a professional historian. One place where they disagree is on the position of De Valera, whom Coogan has dethroned from his former eminence among 'constitutional' Republicans. Lee supplies a far more sympathetic and truthful analysis of 'the Long Fellow'. Another area where American readers may be surprised is the short shrift given to Sean McBride, later a leading light of Amnesty International and a recognised 'jet-set liberal'. However, McBrides interventions in domestic Irish politics were mostly inept and disastrous for this followers and friends. Also for a believer in religious liberty, he was obsequious to the Catholic church in a most apalling fashion. Therefore, read this book to have your expectations challenged, and old opinions undermined. Possibly, the best Irish historical work to emerge from the 20th century, and a book that will be recognised as such.

I liked this little book, we used it on my wedding, and our friends weddings. It's fun and almost always witty. Worth the little price.

This quaint little book is full of wonderful, whimiscal folklore. With each page there is a rustic black and white illustration giving the book its irish traditional look. The book is filled with short poems and greetings that would enrich anyone. Its fun and very easy reading making a great gift. I'm planning to send this book to my sister and Mom before we head to Ireland so we have a feel for some of the Irish folklore. It would make a great addition to anyones library.

Even the cover of this book is great. Chock full of sayings and blessings. A wonderful companion for an Irish wedding. Some of the sayings would make great conversation pieces when placed on place cards!!!

Steve Blamires provides a wonderful well research and theoretically sound book on Irish Celtic magick. Unlike other pagan authors who based their research on second hand translations or other non-myth books, Blamires goes directly to the source and uses direct translations from the Irish Text Society. He connects the tradition directly to the myths. This book is a must for anyone interested in Celtic Magick.

One hopes this book will be reprinted. In it, the author takes the old Irish classic The First Battle of Moytura as the model for his exposition of magical workings. My reservations about it are these: Blamires' style of magic is really patterned on the Hermetic model, and his path workings I find completely unnecessary. One doesn't need path workings to visit the four cities. One needs rather to learn astral projection to find out what they are like. As for the Hermetic model, it is perfectly good, if not old Irish. Considering the corrosion to which the Druid traditions were subjected over the centuries however, one really cannot expect much better than this. One thing that is certain is that Blamires' methods work and do give a beautiful basis for exploring and working with the still potent Irish deities. Blamires' other book Glamoury, based on some of the Duanaire Finn, is similar to this. It brings the reader into another dimention of the magical possibilities of working with the Irish deities. They are quite remarkable.

I first read this book 9 years ago and undertook the journeies within the texts with great determination, mystery and enthusiasm. This book though read many times since still hold the same magic for me thatit did that first time. The journey to sovereinty - that of the All Mother - is truley the most beautiful and emotional journey I have ever had - each time it is taken it is no less magnificent. Much like the book - Steven Blamires has put forth an exceptional work of the Celtic Pagans and their basis of belief. this book is an absolute MUST HAVE for any student of that tradition. No magical library is complete without it!

"Irish storyteller Marrie Walsh pens a memoir rich with the gifts of warmth, magic and wonder, revisting the scenes of her youth, where every neighbor was family, where hermits and bogey men and ghosts were all equally real and frightening, and where time seemed to have stopped for a while." (synopsis by Alibris)
I love personal accounts of growing up in an earlier generation. This is not the gritty, struggle that was Frank McCourt's experience of a city, depression era childhood. Instead the reader gets the country view of that same period.

Reading this book recently allowed me to discover a worthy successor to Flora Thompson's "Lark Rise to Candleford". Which to my mind stands as the classic textured literary time machine, that allows the reader to taste, touch, hear & smell a bygone era in full measure. Marrie Walsh has created a minor masterpiece with her (first?) book. Not only will those devotees of the country life memoirs find similarities with Thompson, but also touches of Miss Read as well as WB Yeats and Thomas Hardy here. The bitter as well as the sweet with a magical touch of folklife for good measure. Highly recommended. And may we see many more works from Ms Walsh's pen.

This is a marvelous little book recounting a childhood in Ireland. It is eminently readable and will transport you to a simpler world for a few hours.

Nothing can ever really be compared to the courage displayed by Anne Frank in her diary, but Cynthia Neale's Nora McCabe in Neale's famine book, THE IRISH DRESSER, comes close. Both Nora and Anne experience day-to-day life in a world gone mad. While nothing can extinguish their inner lights, the world they live in is pitch black, terrifying and cruel. The wonder of Anne Frank has always been how did she manage to cope at all. She has provided unending inspiration for any of us who is ever tempted to indulge in self-pity or despair. Neale's 13-year-old Nora McCabe, like Anne, sees the magic in the ordinary things around her-chickens with personalities and the thrill of an upcoming party where there might actually be food to eat, instead of the hopelessness which has wrapped itself around her family. Anne Frank hid in a cramped apartment in Amsterdam,and Nora McCabe literally hides in a piece of furniture-the Irish dresser, as she, unlike Anne,manages to escape from starvation and political oppression and start over again in New York. If you want to get a real sense of what the Great Famine in Ireland must have been like from a child's point of view, when over one million died and two million fled the island, read this book.

This book tells you what really happened in Ireland during the Potato Famine. It is also a story about family strength and love. Nora and her family are very near starving to death, so their father decides to move them all to America. The family gets split up on the boat to America, and a china cabinet becomes Nora's magical place. Sometimes this story is a little scary and sad, and sometimes it is full of hope and promise. But it is a story that needs to be told. If you have some Irish roots, this books helps you to understand your family history a little better.

The Irish Dresser: A Story Of Hope During The Great Hunger by Cynthia G. Neale is a novel written for young adults and set in the Irish Famine of 1845-1850. The Irish Dresser follows the struggles of Nora McCabe, a thirteen-year-old girl who wages a daily battle with hunger. Nora's adventure begins when her father decides to take her to America for an escape from famine and a chance at survival in a new world. The Irish Dresser is an exciting, entertaining, and highly recommended story of taking risks and facing new challenges for the sake of hope.

"When Irish eyes are smiling..." , and sure won't they steal your heart
away? That's the effect this book, and its protagonist, will have on
you.
Michael Maguire arrived in the U.S. from his native land, Ireland, as a young lad. He settles in Philadelphia, where he finds his new homeland
can be rough, but works hard to establish himself. Michael has no
green card; he is an illegal from across the Atlantic.
His story begins in the harsh winter of Philadelphia; he has lost his
family and home, and most of his savings, in his pending divorce.
It is a cold, blistery night as he fends his way to Saint William's
church, his sanctuary. Little does he know that the cold would be
the least of his worries.
His first marriage in the U.S. ends in failure, yet produced a daughter who is his pride and life. Michael encounters a few undesirables from the seedier side of life that would do him harm. Still, he remains hopeful. He maintains his Catholic upbringing, thinking daily of his dear father,
who, by his words and life, sustains Michael's character and goals.
There are a couple sexual scenes, but only as an integral and minor
part of the story. The "feast" is served to you as every adventurous
and productible part of Michael's life unfolds; as he maintains being
a father to his daughter; as he finds new love; as the culmination of
his hard work comes to fruition in 1986 by the Immigration Act.
When you realize the story is coming to its end, you can only hope
author Marty Kay has another Michael Maguire book in the making.

A very well written and intriguing work that shows a keen eye for detail and taps into a reservoir of emotions. The characters are real, the plot solid and the moral strong.

The author has obviously drawn on experiences from both sides of the Atlantic and presented them in an enjoyable and memorable way.

I hope there is a sequel to this work.

Marty Kay has hit on a niche market with "Irish Eyes".
The link between Ireland and the U.S. as seen through the eyes of the main character helps to make the book unique.
The full gamut of emotions is well explored and the Irish Catholic immigrant's story fully covered.
A very enjoyable read, that brought home the rags to riches story.

I suppose Jon Riley's Irish File could be classified as a travel book. However, that description falls short of the true value of this book. This is a travel book with spirit and soul. Riley doesn't just look "at" Ireland, but looks "into" the spirit of Ireland. The photographs and the words, both Riley's and O'Faolain's, give the viewer a sense of, not only seeing images of Ireland, but feeling, hearing and almost smelling the countryside. This is a beautiful book- beautifully photographed, written, and designed- worth owning for those reasons alone, even if you don't have a specific interest in the Emerald Isle.

The Irish File is the strikingly beautiful photographic works of Jon Michael Riley. Riley lives in North Carolina has done award winning works for numerous magazines and other publications. On his journey to the Emerald Isle, Riley incorporate in his photos a conjoining of dramatic elements.

The photographs are so absolutely beautiful it gives the viewer a sense of a Victorian era painting. The artist gives you the feeling of haunting sounds of music and gentle breezes. The sounds so lovely and celestial like an ethereal song-as he describes his visit in Co. Kerry at the gate entrance of St. Senan's Holy Well. The place inspires the spirit of the breezes tumbling about the metal pipes of the gate [on the front cover]. It's looking at the land with a sense of grace and prefection. Not seeing it as a picture postcard snapshot. Like a scene out of a cinema graphic still with soft overtones. He gives his images a vintage look yet bringing out the realness of their simplicity.

Nuala O'Faolain's author of 'Are You Somebody: The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman', poetic words in the introduction expresses the photogrpher's broader ego to the spirit of the place. This would make a beautiful coffee table book for lovers of breathtaking photography and those who want to reminisce their travels to Ireland.

If you want to know the soul of Ireland then sit in a quiet spot with "The Irish File" and let the images show you an Ireland you probably never knew. As a photographer I am not easily impressed with "photography" books but Jon Riley's images in his book are absolutely stunning! Well done Jon and thank you!

In my own humble and (admittedly) Irish opinion, this is a great collection of stories by a 19th century Irishman who grew up in the older Irish ways yet was educated in the English ways. Thus, you have a group of stories that the man could have written in Irish but in order to sell the stories at all had to write in English. Carleton is writing during an interesting period, when many of the Irish people still spoke Irish! Yet English was gaining as the dominant language, and when a language passes much culture is lost along with it. Carleton bridges an important gap, and his stories are both important and interesting for that reason.
Hurley published these stories as examples of a dying warrior culture on the brink of passing, for the purpose of revealing real Irish stick-fighting, and it is clearly shown. It does not elaborate on techniques of fighting, but there are passsages that deal with how shillelaghs were treated and hardened for use. Carleton's intention was to write good uniquely Irish tales about great clan fights, and to show the Irish spirit. This book shows all of this.

In the early 19th century, an impoverished Gaelic speaking author named Liam O'Cathalain Anglicised his name to William Carleton, and began publishing short stories in English. A former gang member from the farming villages of what is now Northern Ireland, he wrote about the world he knew, and as a result many of his stories are imbued with the same anti-gang message as your stereotypical movie set in the inner city. His stories tell very much about why young Irish men joined gangs or "factions" as they were called. If a young Irish peasant was a faction member, the landlord and his agents would think twice about evicting him, his family, or his friends. If they insisted, the landlord and his agents would likely end up dead. However, the factions spent more time fighting amoung themselves than taking on the system. In the story "Neal Malone," a doughty, but short, tailor has his desire to make his bones on the gang scene shattered after he marries the nastiest shrew in the parish. In "The Battle of the Factions," the love between an Irish Romeo and Juliet is nowhere near enough to end the pathological hatred that exists between two gangs. Editor John W. Hurley has provided copious notes, which I was very grateful for, as otherwise I would have had a very difficult time the dialogue of the stories, a dialect birthed by the shotgun-marriage between the English and Gaelic tongues. In closing, I have to say that I am very grateful both to Mr. Carleton for writing these tales and to Mr. Hurley for finally reissuing them. For this they both deserve a round of applause.

Before you see Martin Scorcese's film 'Gangs Of New York', read John W. Hurley's book 'Irish Gangs And Stick-Fighting'. Scorcese's film is based on the first half of the book'The Gangs Of New York' which deals exclusively with Irish gangs. And while it's flashy and exotic, there isn't much substance in the original book; it doesn't explain the traditions of the Irish gangs or the famous Irish shillelagh, it simply describes them in a sensational way. Hurley's book remedies this problem. It provides first hand accounts of Irish gangs and fights, written by a 'reformed' Irish stick-fighter, and vividly describes Ireland's fighting culture which was goverened by a code of honour which Hurley rightly calls 'Shillelagh Law'. If you are Irish or have an interest in Irish gangs, Irish boxing, the shillelagh, or Scorcese's film, you will really enjoy this book - I highly recommend it.

It is, of course, impossible to know all that is knowable about Irish music, much less present it in a single book. Geoff Wallis and Sue Wilson come amazingly close to accomplishing that daunting task, however, with The Rough Guide to Irish Music.

The volume is deceptively small, though thick, and it's packed with information. It begins with an explanation of the roots of Irish music, its relation to "Celtic" music -- the terms are synonymous in some circles, antithetical in others -- and the people responsible for keeping the music alive and/or bringing it back into the public's fickle consciousness. Next, an excellent chapter spells out the differences among the many Irish vocal and instrumental styles. Do you know whan "sean nos" really means? Can you identify a reel, jig, slip jig or hornpipe by its time signature? This section will help.

The bulk of the book is devoted to a "who's who" of Irish music, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a reference more complete. After dividing the musicians into loose categories -- singers, groups, families, fiddlers, harpers, etc. -- the book provides concise but thorough biographies detailing their influences and impact on the music scene. Each entry also notes the most influential albums from each band/musician, making it easy for readers to know where to expand their collections.

The book ends with a listing for sessions around Ireland, plus music festivals, schools, media, recommended reading and other resources.

If you have any interest in expanding your knowledge of Irish music and Irish musicians, this is the place to do it. The Rough Guide to Irish Music is a phenomenal package that's useful and well-written to boot. It's compact size makes it easy to stow in a music case or jacket pocket, and I predict you'll find yourself pulling it to browse a lot more often than you'd expect for a reference book.

My only problem with this book is that it wasn't written four years ago when I first became seriously interested in Irish music (I eventually started the Arizona Irish Music Society...). I could not find a quick cure to my ignorance and reading Irish Music Magazine was frustratingly unsystematic.

Most books on Irish music are focused on the early history of the music, but there was little about the last 50 years. For me The Rough Guide to Irish Music is absolute God send. It is incredibly thorough and yet quite readable.

The first part of the book gives an excellant background on the history of Irish music and its evolution over the last fifty years. The next sections give profiles of key artists and bands with recommendations about their best CD's. Beware, reading this section can be very expensive!

I cannot pretend familiarity with all the performers and bands covered, but I was favorably impressed with their coverage of the performers I do know.

The Rough Guide Guide to Irish Music is an incredible achievment.

The format and content of this compact guide to Irish music makes the reader eager to listen and learn. The guide has three main sections: background, musicians, and listings. Within each section, the layout allows the reader to peruse for specific information, such as recording history, accompanying artists, and recommended CD top choices as well as recording labels. The background section provides an overview of style and form; while the listing section includes resources not readily available to Americans in such a concise format. I recommend the book for the balanced and well researched information, adroitly presented, that can help with purchases for one's own or a Celtic friend's collection.

This work is the magnum opus of Irish genealogy, a vast and prodigious compendium of family history and source material. The first volume explores the origin and stem of the Irish nation. The old Irish genealogies assembled here are brought down to the lineal descendant of each family living at the time of the British dispossession, although many of the descents are brought down to the 19th century. Also included is a lengthy appendix with an extraordinarily detailed table showing families that owned land in the 12th century. In addition, there is an index of several thousand surnames.

The first half of Volume II consists of Anglo-Irish genealogies, all carried down at least to the Commonwealth period, and most to the last quarter of the 19th century. Arranged alphabetically by family name, these hundreds of genealogies are heavily annotated, and being supported by references to events of comparatively recent history, they sometimes trace the line of descent to an American branch of the family. There also is data on the Huguenot and Palatine families of Ireland and a chapter on the Ulster Plantation and Scots settlers. The latter half of Volume II is encyclopedic in coverage, bearing reference to countless persons, places, and events associated with Ireland.

If you're researching your Irish roots, this two-volume set is an invaluable resource. I found ancestors that I have been searching several years for neatly described and catalogued. There is a wealth of information here that I haven't been able to find anywhere else!

This reprint of the 1892 edition makes available rare source material on Irish geneaology. Much of the material on which it was based has since been destroyed. John O'Hart traces the genealogy of all the major famiies of Ireland from ancient to late Victorian times. Some families are even traced back to Adam! His material provides valuable clues for reseachers and those fortunate enough to be able to link with families included may add centuries to their pedigress! Not limited to the aristocracy, many quite ordinary people are identified and linked to the ancient families. There are numerous references to American branches of the Irish families. An essential reference work and interesting reading besides.