Irish Emigrant Book Review, No.73 (Aug 2001)

John Boyle
Mari-Aymone Djeribi
Cheryl Garrison
Deidre Kelly
James Kelly
Kilkenny Writers
Eddie Lenihan
Brid Mahon
Joe McGowan
Bridget Horan O’Mahony
Elizabeth Rees

ECHOES OF A SAVAGE LAND by Joe McGowan
- In this wide-ranging look at the customs and traditions of the north-western counties of Ireland, Joe McGowan reaches far beyond the immediate past and far beyond our shores to place in context the different traditions that have been nurtured and have evolved in his native Co. Sligo and its neighbouring counties of Donegal, Mayo and Leitrim. Old enough to have experienced as a child the old ways of living and working, he looks back to an age which “provides contact with the raw elements, the untamed forces that arrest and enthral the spirit”. At the same time he records his own passage from boy to man in the gradual acquiring of skills handed down from an earlier generation. Beginning with the season of Hallowe’en the Sligoman chronicles the various customs associated with this period, delving at the same time into the historical background of the celebrations and underlining the pagan origin of much that was given a Christian gloss in later years. Stories of the otherworld abound, whether concerning the ’good people’ or ghosts, stories fortified by the telling of personal experiences of people known to the author. Through the chapters of this book we learn of the methods of farming used until the middle years of the last century, and of a way of life that has now vanished. Looking at one of the realities of life, the author also highlights the problems associated with growing into adolescence at a time when contact with the opposite sex was frowned upon, when sin loomed large in the minds of the young, and the girls in the Legion of Mary “marched in pious ranks of moral rectitude”. His account of the ritual visit to the confessional and the feeling of relief at absolution is followed by penance and “then out the path of freedom - to sin again”. Linking the ways of Ireland with ancient Greece, with the Aztecs of South America and with the Dyaks of Borneo and illustrating his points with quotations from Chaucer and Shakespeare as well as Yeats and Manley Hopkins, McGowan has produced a book that is more than the usual chronicle of country life of long ago. In “Echoes of a Savage Land” he has produced a work of depth which presents a picture of Ireland in the twentieth century with both affection and a gifted use of language.

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FOUR ROADS TO DUBLIN by Deidre Kelly
- On the face of it this history of a part of Dublin is merely of local interest but, given that it covers a part of the country’s capital which has been home to a significant number of prominent Irishmen and women, there is a universal appeal. The four roads in question are the road through Ranelagh, originally known as the Dublin Way, Rathmines Road, Mount Pleasant Avenue and Leeson Street-Morehampton Road and the book deals with the area enclosed by these ancient routes into the city of Dublin. Of particular importance to the development of this area was the River Swan, now completely underground but at one time delineating the developing shape of Rathmines, Ranelagh and Leeson Street. The threat from the O’Byrnes and O’Tooles of Wicklow under which the early residents of this area lived is graphically described in the section entitled “The Massacre at Cullenswood”. Easter Monday was the scene of violence in Dublin long before 1916, for at the beginning of the 13th century some five hundred citizens of Dublin were massacred by dissidents descending from the Wicklow Mountains. The Battle of Rathmines in 1649 between Royalists and Parliamentarians led to the area around Cowper Road being dubbed the Bloody Fields, for the number of the Duke of Ormond’s troops slain by the superior tactics of Parliamentarian Colonel Michael Jones. The story of the four roads over the last two to three centuries is a story of building and rebuilding and the gradual absorption into the city of Dublin of an area rich in history both local and national. Among the residents of Rathmines, Ranelagh and Leeson Street Ms Kelly mentions James Joyce, who lived in Castlewood Avenue and whose parents were married in the Church of Our Lady of Refuge in Rathmines. The area also has many associations with those involved in the 1916 Rising and its aftermath, most notably Padraig Pearse who founded his school in Cullenswood House and nearby lived Thomas McDonagh and Eamon Ceannt. The literary world was further represented with Palmerston Road having been home to both the Cuala Press and George Yeats, the poet’s widow, while George Russell (AE) attended Rathmines School and lived for a time in Mount Pleasant Avenue. The meticulous research undertaken for this volume will enliven an interest in local history that may perhaps be applied to other areas of the country. There is no doubt that, with its attention to detail and lively illustrations, it will appeal to more than local residents, particularly as the area encompassed by the four roads has been “bedsit land” for so many people over the years.

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GALLOWS SPEECHES FROM EIGHTEENTH CENTURY IRELAND by James Kelly
- The practice of making a last speech was prevalent in both Ireland and England during the early years of the 18th century, encouraged in many instances as an example and a warning to young people, and the similarity of wording in many is noticeable. The publication of such speeches also attests both to the increasing literacy of the population and the development of print as a medium of communication. There was much competition to claim the publishing rights of such speeches and Mr Kelly’s book contains two examples of last speeches issued by rival printers. The testimonies of John McCoy, Thomas Barnet, John Smith and Owen Geoghegan, all executed near St Stephen’s Green in 1725 for stealing, bear the imprint of both Reign-Deer of Mountrath Street and C. Carter of Dublin. Indeed a number of those about to be executed make a point of naming the printer who has the correct version of their final words. Thus Edward Fox, pickpocket, who was hanged in 1726, warns against the Mountrath Street printer, saying that he “has a Speech ready to Print upon all occasions, and only changes the Persons Names”. There would appear to have been a convention of forgiving all one’s enemies, even those who bore the real guilt for the crime which has brought the death penalty. When a man, or more rarely a woman, protested his or her innocence of the crime for which he or she had been convicted, very often the accused would give a list of other infringements of the law which warranted their present predicament. Many laid the cause of their criminal ways at the door of women; John McGurran goes so far as to urge young men to “shun all bad Company, especially the Company of Harlots, for they are the things the Devil beats his Hooks with”. Though the title would suggest a rather macabre content, in only one instance is there a graphic description of the actual carrying out of the death penalty. When Captain Collmore was hanged at Dundalk “for being a Proclaim’d Tory”, the manner of his death involving his being “Quarter’d and his Intrals burn’d”, the account ends with the words, “He died very obstinately”. One man attempted unsuccessfully to cheat the hangman. William Dickson, condemned to death for coining, supplied himself with a thick iron collar which he hoped would negate the work of the hangman’s rope, but the unusual thickness of his neck was noticed by the Sheriff and High Sheriff and the collar removed before the execution. The speeches range from the short account of his life given by one Philip Malone, found guilty of stealing, to the lengthy dissertation of James Dunbar who made use of Biblical quotations in an effort to give guidance to the children he was leaving fatherless. The inclusion of personal details gives an immediacy to these speeches despite the repetition, and some seem particularly unjust. One 14-year-old victim who was executed in 1731 for stealing, Will Henry, had already been unlucky enough to break his leg while making his getaway. Similarly, one can only imagine the desperation of Nicholas Cox, convicted of stealing and selling cattle to feed his family after he had fallen behind with his rent. Indeed the apparent triviality of many of the crimes gives the reader of this interesting book an insight into the severity and unpredictability of life in 18th century Ireland.

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GALLOWAY STREET by John Boyle
- John Boyle has captured the essence of growing up Irish in Scotland, the family focus constantly turned westwards and the word ’home’ denoting a place visited both spiritually and actually by members of the family. The author’s mother came from Achill to live in Paisley in the west of Scotland where she married a Donegal man and raised a family of six children. John Boyle nicely captures the restricted circle of Irish Catholics with whom the family mixed, referring to his Aunt Margaret whose husband “never comes near us because he’s a Protestant”. The deprivation experienced by such families in the mid-20th century, often exacerbated by alcohol, is vividly captured, as is the major part played by religion in their lives. The annoyances of younger brothers, the ignominy of being the last chosen for football teams and the first awareness that girls really are different, all contribute to the reality of childhood. The young John’s life was to change, however, when as a nine-year-old he accompanied his Aunt Mary, his mother’s sister, home to Achill and spent almost a year living and going to school on the island. While opening up a different world to the young John, his time spent away from Scotland alienated him from both family and friends through his change of accent and he laments, “It’s a hard thing to come back home and feel like a foreigner in your own country”. The narrative begins and ends on Achill, at the funeral of John’s Aunt Mary, as he tries to understand the nine-year-old boy who entered island life and the grown man who makes his living doing voice-overs. Perhaps the dichotomy of being reared as an Irish child in Scotland can be summed up by his feelings on returning to Paisley after his time on Achill, “It seems to me I’m a foreigner wherever I go”.

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INK BOTTLE by Kilkenny Writers
- Four Kilkenny-based writers were selected for inclusion in this collection of poetry and prose subtitled “New Writing from Kilkenny”, while a fifth, Mark Roper, also supplies the introduction. The solitary prose voice is that of Brian Phelan, who has contributed four pieces dealing with the search for love and its loss among young people in Ireland. The poetry of Edward Power is a lament for loss in childhood, in war and, on a contemporary note, the loss of farmers in “Springtime in England” who face “...yellow diggers under an anguished sky” Mark Roper, an Englishman who has lived in Ireland for the past twenty years, focuses on childhood and the fears and uncertainties of that time in our lives. With humour he recalls his young confusion with the words of a prayer which led him to imagine a special polish for cleaning hearts; the literal view of words again misleads him in “The Home for Fallen Women” where he imagines the inmates “...outside, tied to canes, nurtured by the good, clean rain.” The poems of Gillian Somerville-Large and Carmel Cummins complement each other, with those of the former notable for their lyric description of distant place and time, while for Ms Cummins the hallmark is a brevity that conceals layers of thought.

PAGAN DANCES OF CAHERBARNAGH by Bridget Horan O’Mahony
- The rather earnest introduction to this collection about Ireland and Seattle is belied by the tenor of those stories which are far removed from the idealistic picture of Ireland and the Irish that I had expected. Bridget Horan O’Mahony has the facility of inviting the reader both to laugh and to cry with her, and in equal measure. The desolation of a father about to see his firstborn leave home for the first time, vividly evoked in “A Day in the Bog”, is in sharp contrast to the memories of anticipation, disappointment and pleasure contained in the title piece. This recalls the days of the crossroads dances and their demise on the introduction of commercial ballrooms. The chronicle of Christie, an immigrant to the US, follows his progress on both sides of the Atlantic and includes a wonderful portrayal of a traditional band in an Irish pub in Seattle. The same Christie is the subject of a series of letters from his mother and his sister, the former craving any kind of communication from her son - “Write soon. Even a card would do.” - and his sister taking over the mantle after their mother’s death. This is a rewarding book which begs to be read in one sitting.

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WHAT MACHINES? ed. Mari-Aymone Djeribi
- This collection of essays from Leitrim-based Mermaid Turbulence looks at the way in which machines have affected both the economy and the lives of individuals over the past few centuries. The contributors, predominantly artists, craftsmen and architects, examine different aspects of our relationship with machines and their ability to impoverish our lives to a greater or lesser extent. Furniture maker Laura Mays questions the true marks of craftsmanship and suggests that the act of eschewing machinery in favour of hand tools can be an expensive indulgence on the part of the craftworker. Economic journalist Richard Douthwaite gives a particularly chilling picture of the future when mankind has used up all fossil fuel resources and states quite baldly that “billions of people will probably die” while the world is coping with the change in production systems necessary when fossil fuel is no longer available. The effect of modern technology on both music and architectural drawing is dealt with by Jurgen Simpson and Dominic Stevens respectively and the book closes with an illustrated recipe for toast from a 1965 French encyclopaedia.

THE SPANISH SAILOR by Brid Mahon
- Brid Mahon has brought her expertise as a folklorist to bear on this tale for children involving a brother a sister, a ’fey’ aunt, two villains from a circus and three magic animals. Kathleen and Conor are in search of treasure left behind by a young Spanish prince after his ship foundered off the Blaskets during the failed Armada. In a series of adventures linking a racing pig, a magic mirror, a leprechaun and two divers the children realise their dream and bring peace to the shipwrecked prince.

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ROWDY IRISH TALES FOR CHILDREN by Eddie Lenihan
- Clareman Eddie Lenihan is well known in Ireland as a storyteller and is also the author of a number of books for children. In the two stories included in this volume, featuring Boethius Clancy and Finn Mac Cumhail, he has succeeded in transferring the vividness of the oral tradition to the written word. Lenihan’s style makes use of many Irish words and for those unfamiliar with the Irish language he has also included a glossary of the words used.

CELTIC SAINTS IN THEIR LANDSCAPE by Elizabeth Rees
- Encompassing the Celtic world of Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, Northumbria and the Isle of Man, this beautifully illustrated book gives details of some fifty saints of Celtic origin, drawing on both historical and literary sources for those details of their lives that are available to us. The well-known saints are, of course, included; the book opens with a chapter on St Patrick, and Columba, David and Ninian are also prominently featured. However it is the lesser known saints who fascinate; St Winifred of Wales is remembered for her healing wells, as is St Madern, a Cornish saint whose well includes a tree adorned with cloths. While the narrative is carefully researched and intelligently presented, it is the illustrations in this volume which capture the imagination; the ancient yew in Caerwent churchyard, the wonderfully time-worn Celtic cross at Paul Churchyard near Penzance, the sunset at Culross, legendary birthplace of St Kentigern of Scotland, all give testimony to the strength of the Celtic church in the years following the departure of the Romans from Britain.

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GUIDE TO HEMOCHROMATOSIS ed. Cheryl Garrison
- Haemochromotosis, a condition in which excessive amounts of iron are absorbed by the body’s organs, is particularly common in a number of North European countries including Ireland, yet it is little understood by the general public and often undiagnosed for long periods. In this guide published by the Iron Disorders Institute the condition and its treatment is explained, and both the difficulty in diagnosis and the hereditary aspect of the disease are underlined in a series of personal case studies. What emerges is a condition manifesting a wide range of symptoms which, if unidentified, can prove and have proved fatal in many cases. As well as advice on relevant treatment for the condition the authors have included a list of frequently asked questions and a glossary of terms used, thus making their guide easily accessible to the layman.

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