Search results for ""new island books""

When Raymonde Standún set about photographing the local people of the South Connemara Gaeltacht, she quickly sensed that here were stories to be told that lay beyond the reach of a camera: unique places; unique people; a nucleus of Irish culture, its language, music and dance. Voices of Connemara keeps this heritage alive in pictures as well as in the written word. Collected here are 51 interviews, among them: Martin Flaherty on the Black and Tans; Julia Greaney on the Fair Day at Spiddal; Cáit Nic an Iomaire on making her own wedding dress; and Festy Conlon on his father’s first fife. Set against Standún’s stunning images are stories of poitín for two bob, the baker’s island-delivery boat and the trials of line-fishing, alongside darker tales, still vibrant in the collective memory, of landlord brutality, famine and emigration. Edited by Bill Long, who also introduces the volume, here are the extraordinary voices of the ordinary people of Connemara, voices of the living as well as the dead.

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Proverbs are, however, much more than that. They are windows into our past, and a friendly nod from our ancestors. Sometimes they can remind us of our parents or grandparents as we once again hear their kindly voices speak to us in words of folk wisdom. This book offers mainly Irish folk proverbs, but there is also a selection from Irish literature, the Bible, and other languages.

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Filled with pathos and humour,Parcels in the Postis both a memoir of a loving household and snapshot of the fostering system in Ireland, from someone at the very heart of it all.

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First published in 1989 No Laughing Matter: The Life and Times of Flann O’Brien was the first full-length biography of Flann O’Brien. Rich in background, anecdote and social history, it is an extraordinary portrait of a writer and his times, perceptive, sympathetic and authoritative. Flann O’Brien (aka Brian O’Nolan) was born in Tyrone in 1911 and worked as a civil servant for many years. He also developed an alter ego, Myles na Gopaleen, whose saitrical column in The Irish Times soon acquired legendary status. At Swim-Two-Birds, his first novel, appeared in 1939 and was praised by James Joyce, Graham Greene, Dylan Thomas and others. His second novel, The Third Policeman, failed to find a publisher at the time but has since been acknowledged as one of the most important novels to come out of Ireland in the twentieth century. With a foreword by acclaimed author Kevin Barry and striking redesign, No Laughing Matter is an undisputed classic of Irish literary biography.

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Tá Danny Ó Murchú ag dul le bualadh lena dheartháir Jimmy. Ní fhaca siad a chéile le níos mó ná fiche bliain. Ar an mbealach chuig an gcruinniú, is cuimhin le Danny na tréimhsí maithe agus na drochthréimhsí, an spraoi agus na troideanna – agus an t-achrann mór amháin a scar iad. An dtroidfidh siad arís nó an mbeidh siad ina gcairde mar ba ghnáth leo a bheith? Níl a fhios ag Danny. Danny Murphy is going to meet his brother, Jimmy. They haven't seen each other in over twenty years. On the way to the meeting, Danny remembers the good times and the bad times, the fun and the fights - and the one big row that drove them apart. Will they fight again or will they become the friends they used to be? Danny doesn't know.

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Tá an tUasal Ó Sé agus a mhadra dílis, Seoirse, ag dul amach ar cuairt ghairid chuig na siopaí. Tá dearmad déanta ag an Uasal Ó Sé ar a chuid eochracha, ach beidh Bean Uí Shé ann, mar a bhíonn sí i gcónaí, chun iad a ligean isteach. Ach ar an mbealach ar ais, tugann Seoirse faoi deara go bhfuil rud éigin amú – chas siad faoi dheis nuair ba chóir dóibh casadh faoi chlé, rud atá á dtabhairt níos faide ó bhaile. Chun rudaí a dhéanamh níos measa, tá an chuma air go mbeidh báisteach ann. Buaileann na seanchairde an bóthar ar thuras trasna Bhaile Átha Cliath agus trína gcuid cuimhní, atá, de réir cosúlachta, ag imeacht ceann ar cheann… Mr Bolton and his faithful dog, George, are just popping down to the shops. He forgot his keys, but Mrs Bolton will be there to let them in like always. But on the way back, George notices something wrong - they turned right when they should have turned left, bringing them farther from home. To make things worse, it's beginning to look like rain. The old friends set off on a journey across Dublin and through their memories, which seem to be disappearing one by one...

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Insíonn Susan óg an scéal fíorspéisiúil tochtmhar seo faoin samhradh nuair a bhí sí ocht mbliana d’aois, agus nuair ba bheag nár bádh a deartháir Bruno san fharraige. D’éirigh léi snámh ar ais chuig an trá leis, áit ar éirigh sé an-tinn. Agus é san ospidéal, is minic a bhíonn Susan agus a deirfiúr leo féin. Seo scéal faoi athrú, fás agus dóchas atá á insint ag cailín óg nach dtuigeann cad atá ag tarlú. Tá téamaí éagsúla sa scéal; an gaol atá ag forbairt idir an triúr páistí, cineáltas strainséirí, an tacaíocht agus an grá i dteaghlach atá cabhair uathu agus atá ádhúil le teacht air. Young Susan tells this gripping and moving tale about the summer when she was eight years old, and her brother Bruno nearly drowns in the sea. She gets him back to shore where he becomes seriously ill. While he is in hospital, Susan and sister Peanut are often left alone. This is a story about change, growth and hope told through the eyes of a child who does not understand what is happening. It covers the developing relationship of the three children, the kindness of strangers, the support and love in a family that needs assistance, and is fortunate enough to find it.

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When Kate Holohan’s husband dies suddenly, the extent of his disastrous financial speculation is revealed – together with a mistress and a secret love-nest in the small Italian fishing port of Camogli. Unwilling to take on the ocean of debt and deceit she has inherited, Kate abandons her home and teaching job and flees to Italy in the hope of making a new life. Her new neighbour, Anna Ferrara, is a formidable and mysterious older lady who takes Kate under her wing, teaching her Italian, finding her work and offering her friendship and more. But it will be Anna’s past – as a journalist, writer, former Resistance fighter and a committed communist – that will also challenge Kate and force her to reconsider her responsibilities back home and the values she truly wants to represent. Over three seasons, William Wall conjures the colours, tastes and scents of Liguria, as Empty Bed Blues explores the intersection of friendship, love, language, debt and politics, all told with humour, sensitivity and gold standard storytelling.

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As a doctoral student at Trinity College Dublin, Darren Walton is trying to decode an elaborate conspiracy he stumbled across as an undergraduate. To do so he must locate an alternate Ireland named Camland, the existence of which is proven when he discovers a literary journal whose contents mirror his own past. With proof of his wild theories, Darren is sure academic fame is imminent. But for this he is willing to sacrifice not just his sanity and physical safety, but also his relationships with the ones who love him most. In breathless prose, Declan Toohey weaves a contemporary yarn of academic intrigue and youthful irreverence, sexual fluidity and neurodiversity. Experimental, trippy, hilarious, compassionate, Perpetual Comedown is a riotous reckoning in the construction of the self.

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Guardians of the Peace is a political history of the Irish police force, An Garda Síochana, from its foundation at the birth of the Irish State, through the Irish Civil War, the threat of the fascist ‘Blueshirts’, the continuing campaign of the IRA, de Valera’s entry into the Dáil in 1932 and the creation, effectively of his own police force – ’The Broy Harriers’ – through World War 2. As the author outlines in his insightful introduction, the story told in this book is part of a longer and wider narrative. But it is a story which still has relevance as Ireland moves, hopefully, to a new era of peace and stability. It is above all a chronicle of the idealism and the imperfections of ordinary men presented by history with the discharging of a rather extraordinary task. As the force approaches one hundred years since its founding, it is hoped that this history will evoke the ideals and the founding principles adopted in 1922 and perhaps help to re-interpret and re-apply them in a 21st Century context.

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NEW PAPERBACK EDITION 2015 saw the publication of The Long Gaze Back: An Anthology of Irish Women Writers, edited by Sinéad Gleeson. The Long Gaze Back was widely acclaimed and went on to win Best Irish-published Book of the Year 2015 at the Irish Book Awards. More importantly, it sparked lively discussion and debate about the erasure of women writers from the literary canon. One question kept arising: where was the equivalent anthology for women writers from the north? The Glass Shore, compiled by award-winning editor, broadcaster and critic Sinéad Gleeson, provides an intimate and illuminating insight into a previously underappreciated literary canon. Twenty-four female luminaries — whose lives and works cover three centuries — capture experiences that are both vivid and varied, despite their shared geographical heritage. Unavoidably affected by a difficult political past, this challenging landscape is navigated by characters who are searingly honest, humorous and, at times, heartbreakingly poignant. The result is a collection that is enthralling, stirring and quietly disconcerting. Individually, these intriguing stories make an indelible impact and are cause for reflection and contemplation. Together, they transgress their social, political and gender constraints, instead collectively presenting a distinctive, resolute and impassioned voice worthy of recognition and admiration. Featuring stories by: Rosa Mulholland, Erminda Rentoul Esler, Sarah Grand, Alice Milligan, Eithne Carbery, Margaret Barrington, Janet McNeill, Mary Beckett, Polly Devlin, Frances Molloy, Una Woods, Sheila Llewellyn, Linda Anderson, Anne Devlin, Evelyn Conlon, Mary O’Donnell, Annemarie Neary, Martina Devlin, Rosemary Jenkinson, Bernie McGill, Tara West, Jan Carson, Lucy Caldwell and Roisín O’Donnell.

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Duine de shárscéalaithe na Gaeilge In Eanáir 1952, sé bliana sula bhfuair Peig Sayers bás, thionscain Coimisiún Béaloideasa Éireann agallaimh léi agus í in ospidéal Naomh Anna, Baile Átha Cliath. Bhí Peig thar a bheith sásta labhairt lena cuairteoirí a raibh Gaeilge Chiarraí ar a dtoil acu agus seanaithne aici orthu. Foilsítear den chéad uair in Níl Deireadh Ráite na hagallaimh sin mar aon le réamhrá tathagach, tráchtaireacht agus aistriúchán Béarla ar an iomlán. Cuireann Peig i láthair anseo seanscéalta idirnáisiúnta, scéal Fiannaíochta, finscéalta taistealacha, seanchas stairiúil agus sísheanchas, roinnt paidreacha, agus tá cúpla léaráid óna mac, Mícheál Ó Gaoithín, mar anlann leo. Léiríonn na taifeadtaí a bua mar scéalaí oilte, a hacmhainn grinn, a móreolas ar scéalta traidisiúnta agus a cumas máistriúil á gcur i láthair trí shúile mná. Buanaíonn an saothar seo ionad Pheig mar dhuine de shárscéalaithe na Gaeilge agus cinntíonn sé go bhfuil a cuid scéalaíochta le háireamh ar scoth na healaíne béil sa tír seo. Among the first rank of Irish storytellers In January 1952, six years before she died, Peig Sayers was interviewed by a team from the Irish Folklore Commission in St Anne’s Hospital, Dublin. She was more than happy to be recorded, and pleased to be visited by old friends, all of whom spoke fluent Kerry Irish. In Not the Final Word these interviews are published for the first time, in both Irish and English, along with a substantial introduction and detailed annotation. Here Peig tells her versions of international folktales, a Fenian tale, some prayers, migratory legends and historical and supernatural lore, illustrated in paintings by her son, Mícheál Ó Gaoithín. She emerges as a warm and authentic storyteller, with a ready sense of humour, a deep knowledge of traditional narrative and highly skilled in its presentation. This collection reaffirms Peig Sayers’s position in the first rank of Irish storytellers and firmly establishes her tales in the canon of Irish oral literature.

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Lady Augusta Gregory’s Irish Myths and Legends, or Gods and Fighting Men as it was first titled in 1904, is an essential collection of Irish myths, legends and folk tales gathered by Gregory from Irish oral story tellers at the close of the nineteenth century. These epic tales are divided into two parts: the first charts the coming of the mythic Tuatha De Danaan to Ireland, the lives of Manannan and Lugh, and the tragedy of the Children of Lir. The second part follows the exploits and trials of Finn Mac Cumhal, the Fianna, Oisin, and the love story of Diarmuid and Grania. This is a timeless collection of Irish myths and legends - whimsical, tragic, astounding and ever familiar - borne through the centuries, and an essential part of Ireland's literary heritage.

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Each of Ireland’s pilgrim paths is an ancient tóchar (‘camino’ or causeway) into the world of Celtic spirituality. In this walking-pace travelogue, set against a backdrop of spectacular scenery in every corner of Ireland, Darach MacDonald, a modern-day pilgrim, recounts his trials and tribulations following in the footsteps of the ancients along prescribed paths, ranging from hikes of a few hours’ duration to day-long treks and the three-day ordeal in St Patrick’s Purgatory. This is an exploration of the magical soul of Celtic Christianity, written from the perspective of a struggling, ‘à la carte’ Irish Catholic, ‘who could be best described as a healthy sceptic in matters of belief’. The result is a narrative that is at times uplifting and at times uncomfortable, but always engaging and honest. While there are pilgrimage prayers along the tóchar, as well as historical background on the places once revered throughout Christendom, there are also pints in pleasant pubs and a diverse range of literary references, anecdotes and personal reflections on faith, morality and religious practice, offered in a spontaneous and unselfconscious spirit.

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An instant classic, The Long Gaze Back, edited by Sinéad Gleeson, is an exhilarating anthology of thirty short stories by some of the most gifted women writers this island has ever produced. Featuring: Niamh Boyce, Elizabeth Bowen, Maeve Brennan, Mary Costello, June Caldwell, Lucy Caldwell, Evelyn Conlon, Anne Devlin, Maria Edgeworth, Anne Enright, Christine Dwyer Hickey, Norah Hoult, Mary Lavin, Eimear McBride, Molly McCloskey, Bernie McGill, Lisa McInerney, Belinda McKeon, Siobhán Mannion, Lia Mills, Nuala Ní Chonchúir, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, Kate O’Brien, Roisín O’Donnell, E. M. Reapy, Charlotte Riddell, Eimear Ryan, Anakana Schofield, Somerville & Ross, Susan Stairs. Taken together, the collected works of these writers reveal an enrapturing, unnerving, and piercingly beautiful mosaic of a lively literary landscape. Spanning four centuries, The Long Gaze Back features 8 rare stories from deceased luminaries and forerunners, and 22 new stories by some of the most talented Irish women writers working today. The anthology presents an inclusive and celebratory portrait of the high calibre of contemporary literature in Ireland. These stories run the gamut from heartbreaking to humorous, but each leaves a lasting impression. They chart the passions, obligations, trials and tribulations of a variety of vividly-drawn characters with unflinching honesty and relentless compassion. These are stories to savour.

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Originally published in 1950, Cocktail Bar is a brilliantly incisive collection of short stories, far ahead of its time, which illuminates the small, unspoken intricacies of human relationships. From an immigrant household in London preparing to organise a ‘proper Irish wedding’ to a domineering society matron running her upper-class neighbourhood with an iron fist; from a fashionable young woman wants to be charitable towards her old and poor aunt to an Irish girl must decide between a promising future in America and marriage to her long-time beau. Throughout these tales, Hoult reveals the contemporary realities of class and disability, office politics and women’s lives, with a sharp gaze and a gentle touch. Beautifully observed and remarkably crafted, exact and unflinching, Cocktail Bar is a modern Irish classic.

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Adapted from his extraordinary autobiography, Angels of Divine Light (Transworld, 2010), for the Open Door series of short books for emerging readers, Aidan Storey recalls how the presence of Angels sustained him through years of great turmoil. As he recalls the sexual and mental abuse he suffered in primary school, and the dark days of depression that followed, he describes how the Angels, through the power of angelic healing, taught him how to bring light and love into his life and the lives of many others. Profoundly moving, this is an inspiring story of hope and forgiveness, and a testament to the healing power of Angels that will stay with you for ever.

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Nuala O’Faolain’s first memoir Are You Somebody? became a literary sensation and an international bestseller when it was first published by New Island Books in 1996. It launched a new life for its author, at a time when she had long since let go of expectations that anything new could dislodge patterns of regret and solitude. A pioneering work of literary memoir, Almost There opens at that moment when O’Faolain’s life began to change. It tells the story of a life in subtle, radical, and unforeseen renewal. It is a tale of good fortune chasing out bad – of an accidental harvest of happiness. But it is also a provocative examination of one woman’s experience of the ‘crucible of middle age’ – a time of life that faces in two directions, that forges the shape of the years to come, and also clarifies and solidifies one’s relationships to friends and lovers, family and self. Nuala O’Faolain’s final memoir, Almost There chronicles the pursuit of artistic and personal integrity, and what it is to be a woman in contemporary society, with the signature style and raw candidness of her personal writing.

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There are nine breeds of dog that are native to Ireland: four terriers, three gun dogs, and two hounds. In The Curious History of Irish Dogs, David Blake Knox tells the remarkable stories of each of the nine breeds, and reveals how they have become inextricably linked to the human beings with whom they share the island. Irish Wolfhounds stalked through ancient Celtic mythology, while Kerry Beagles were among the victims of the Land War in the 1880s. Charles Stewart Parnell insisted that his Red Setter stay with him when he was on his death bed. During World War One, hundreds of Irish Terriers served on the front lines of the trenches. Michael Collins wanted to make the Kerry Blue the National dog of Ireland. The Glen of Imaal Terrier was deliberately bred to have a genetic defect, while the Irish Water Spaniel was reputed to be descended from the dobhar-chú – a Celtic spirit. Six of Ireland’s nine native breeds of dog are now considered vulnerable to extinction, but they are an integral part of our cultural narrative and have added both to our social history – and to our happiness.

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Unmarried, childless and sickly, Ellen Hutchins was considered an ‘unsuccessful’ woman, dutifully bound to her family’s once grand and isolated estate, Ballylickey House in County Cork. And yet, by the time of her death in 1815, Ireland’s first female botanist, self-taught and determined to make her mark, had catalogued over a thousand species of seaweed and plants from her native Bantry Bay. In Marianne Lee’s remarkable debut novel, Ellen’s rich but tormented inner life is reclaimed from the repression by gender, class and politics of her time, stealing glimpses of the happiness and autonomy she could never quite articulate. As she reaches for meaning and expression through her work, the eruption of a long-simmering family feud and the rise of Ellen’s own darkness – her ‘quiet tide’ – threaten to destroy her already fragile future. A Quiet Tide is a life examined, a heart-breaking, haunting story that at last captures the essence and humanity of a long forgotten Irishwoman.

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'Myles Foley gripped my soaked jumper. Before his ship sank he was a Nazi: now he's a drowning sailor. Out here, we are all sailors. Your father and grandfather understood that. Are you going to disgrace their memory?' Part historical fiction, part extraordinary coming-of-age tale, The Lonely Sea and Sky charts the maiden voyage of fourteen-year-old Jack Roche aboard a tiny Wexford ship, the Kerlogue, on a treacherous wartime journey to Portugal. After his father's ship is sunk on this same route, Jack must go to sea to support his family swapping Wexford's small streets for Lisbon's vibrant boulevards: where every foreigner seems to be a refugee or a spy, and where he falls under the spell of Katerina, a Czech girl surviving on her wits. Bolger's new novel is based on a real-life rescue in 1943, when the Kerlogue's crew risked their lives to save 168 drowning German sailors - members of the navy that had killed Jack's father. Forced to choose who to save and who to leave behind, the Kerlogue grows so dangerously overloaded that no one knows if they will survive amid the massive Biscay waves. A brilliant portrayal of those unarmed Irish ships that sailed alone through hazardous waters; of young romance and a boy encountering a world where every experience is intense and dangerous, this is Bolger's most spellbinding novel, and the work of a master storyteller who is one of Ireland's best-known novelists, playwrights and poets.

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Leac mhullaigh éachtach é TEASÁRAS GAEILGE–BÉARLA ar obair shaoil an údair, Garry Bannister. Ócáid chinniúnach staire í i leith staidéar na teanga agus a cultúir. Is leabhar tagartha é nach bhfuil a mhacasamhail ar fáil inniu. Taifead cuimsitheach é a nochtann scéimh, solúbthacht, doimhneacht agus stair na Gaeilge, bronnta ar an saol mar thoradh ar an taighde fhairsing chríochnúil atá déanta ag Bannister. Cuimsíonn an Teasáras seo comhchiallaigh, cleachtaí agus nósanna cainte, comhcheangail fhocal, leaganacha logánta agus seanfhocail. Léiríonn na hiontrálacha sa Teasáras seo peirspictíochtaí úra nach mbeifí ag súil leo sa teanga faoi mar a bhí sí inné agus mar atá sí inniu. Is áis an-úsáideach ar fad do stór focal an úsáideora iad na liostaí atá breactha de réir téama ar feadh an leabhair. Anuas ar sin tá cuntas nuálaíoch ar oibriú na Gaeilge nua-aoisí curtha faoinár mbráid i dTreoir Ghramadaí i gcúl an leabhair. Cuireann TEASÁRAS GAEILGE–BÉARLA saibhreas suntasach nua le corpas téacsanna tagartha na Gaeilge. Acmhainn áisiúil, riachtanach, is ea í, agus taisce dhothomhaiste do chainteoirí, scríbhneoirí agus iriseoirí, d’údair, d’aos dána agus do lucht foghlama agus, go deimhin, do dhuine ar bith a dteastaíonn uathu slacht, snas agus snoiteacht a chur ar a scileanna teanga idir labhairt agus scríobh na Gaeilge. IRISH–ENGLISH THESAURUS is the stunning culmination of Garry Bannister’s life’s work and a milestone in engagement with the Irish language and its culture. It is a reference book like no other, a meticulously researched record which captures the beauty, agility, depth and history of the Irish language. Entries include but are not limited to translations, synonyms, usages and colloquialisms, common word combinations and proverbs. Every single entry reveals fresh and often surprising perspectives on contemporary and older usage. An original and innovative grammar guide offers leaner and more accurate descriptions of how the language is used. Lists of thematically grouped vocabulary appear throughout the book as an extremely useful tool for language-building and prose writing. IRISH–ENGLISH THESAURUS is a significant addition to the corpus of reference texts, an essential and indispensable resource for speakers, authors, poets, journalists, students and teachers, and, indeed, for anyone wishing to enrich and develop their spoken and written Irish-language skills.

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St Patrick is one of the most famous saints of all time. Thousands of people with no direct Irish connection celebrate St Patrick’s Day, parading along the streets of New York, Boston, Chicago, San Antonio, Texas and Sydney, where St Patrick’s Day is a national holiday. These celebrations are the latest version of the cult of St Patrick, which has persisted in different forms since his death on 17 March, 462AD. But who was St Patrick, and how much of what we know about him is fact, how much legend? This book looks at the historical man and the evidence of his writings, the myths and the apocryphal stories, and describes the social changes that led in the 18th century to his emergence as a symbol of Irish nationalism. Patrick: From Patron Saint to Modern Influencer is a fascinating and lively portrait of the man who converted pagan Ireland to Christianity – a fresh, sometimes startling examination of the folklore and traditions that have developed around the saint through the ages. First published in 1989 in the UK and USA, this fully updated edition features new photographs and illustrations and will be an indispensable companion for anyone seeking to understand the role of St Patrick in forging modern Irish identity.

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Over the last thirty years, the English Premier League has grown to become the richest and most popular league in football – and the Irish have been at the heart of its success since the very beginning. In exclusive interviews with thirty former and current players, and an in-depth analysis of Irish players’ involvement, Gareth Maher celebrates the astounding contribution that the Republic of Ireland has made to the most famous league in the world of sport. With insights from Seamus Coleman, John O’Shea, Niall Quinn, Shay Given, Jonathan Walters, Richard Dunne, Andrew Omobamidele and many more, Away Days uncovers the good, the bad & the ugly of a league that has been home to almost two-hundred Irish players. This is the story of Ireland’s impact on the Premier League as told through the experiences of the players who have lived through the title wins and the relegation scraps, the big-money moves and the cancelling of contracts, the villian's disdain and the hero’s acclaim over three whirlwind decades.

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*One Dublin One Book choice for 2022* *Shortlisted for an Irish Book Award 2021* When Nora Barnacle, a twenty-year-old from Galway working as a maid at Finn’s Hotel, meets young James Joyce on a summer’s day in Dublin, she is instantly attracted to him, natural and daring in his company. But she cannot yet imagine the extraordinary life they will share together. All Nora knows is she likes her Jim enough to leave behind family and home, in search of a bigger, more exciting life. As their family grows, they ricochet from European city to city, making fast friends amongst the greatest artists and writers of their age as well as their wives, and are brought high and low by Jim’s ferocious ambition. But time and time again, Nora is torn between their intense and unwavering desire for each other and the constant anxiety of living hand-to-mouth, often made worse by Jim’s compulsion for company and attention. So, while Jim writes and drinks his way to literary acclaim, Nora provides unflinching support and inspiration, sometimes at the expense of her own happiness, and especially at that of their children, Giorgio and Lucia. Eventually, together, they achieve some longed-for security and stability, but it is hard-won and imperfect to the end. In sensuous, resonant prose, Nuala O’Connor has conjured the definitive portrait of this strong, passionate and loyal Irishwoman. Nora is a tour de force, an earthy and authentic love letter to Irish literature’s greatest muse.

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In Heidelberg, Germany, over the course of a hot week in July, two gentle souls begin a prelude to love, testing the pull of romance against the weight of their family histories. After fifteen years in a relationship with a man she did not love, Ute Pfeiffer has returned from Ireland to find her father, Julius, in decline and her mother, Christa, more distant than ever. The last thing she needs is to fall for another Irishman. But when she sees Seanie Donnellan driving over a hen in her parents’ yard, something seems to shift in her cautious heart. Ute has given up on love and Seanie has never really known it. He also knows nothing of her family’s unspoken history during the war, nor how Ute muted this sadness with a sheltered life that she hated. But Seanie is a strange and charming young man with emotional aches of his own, confounding all of her expectations and daring her to hope for the first time. As her father returns to a kind of childhood, and her mother’s longing spills over in the revelation of a family secret, Ute must decide if falling in love is something that happens to other people or if it’s a choice only she can make.

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Following a car crash, for several seconds Dublin photographer Sean Blake is clinically dead but finds his progress towards the afterworld blocked by a haunting face he only partially recognises. Restored to a miraculous second chance at life – he feels profoundly changed. He is haunted by not knowing who he truly is because this is not the first time he has been given a second life. At six weeks old he was taken from his birth mother, a young girl forced to give him up for adoption. Now he knows that until he unlocks the truth about his origins, he will be a stranger to his wife, to his children and to himself. Struggling against a wall of official silence and a complex sense of guilt, Sean determines to find his birth mother, embarking on an absorbing journey into archives, memories, dreams and startling confessions. The first modern novel to address the scandal of Irish Magdalene laundries when it was published in 1994, A Second Life continued to haunt Bolger’s imagination. He has never allowed its republication until he felt ready to retell the story in a new and even more compelling way. This reimagined text is therefore neither an old novel nor a new one, but a completely ‘renewed’ novel, that grows towards a spelling-binding, profoundly moving conclusion.

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Marking the centenary of Ireland’s – and possibly the world’s – most famous novel, this joyful introductory guide opens up Ulysses to a whole new readership, offering insight into the literary, historical and cultural elements at play in James Joyce’s masterwork. Both eloquent and erudite, this book is an initiation into the wonders of Joyce’s writing and of the world that inspired it, written by Daniel Mulhall, Ireland’s ambassador to the United States and an advocate for Irish literature around the world. One hundred years on from that novel’s first publication, Ulysses: A Reader’s Odyssey takes us on a journey through one of the twentieth century’s greatest works of fiction. Exploring the eighteen chapters of the novel and using the famous structuring principle of Homer’s Odyssey as our guide, Daniel Mulhall releases Ulysses from its reputation of impenetrability, and shows us the pleasure it can offer us as readers.

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Shortlisted for the An Post Irish Book Awards Irish-Published Book of the Year A TREASURE TROVE OF LETTERS TO AND FROM OUR NINE PRESIDENTS FROM 1938 TO THE PRESENT DAY With over 400 letters, memos, cards, telegrams, drawings, notes and photographs, The Presidents’ Letters reveals a personal and unexpected story of Ireland since the inauguration of our first president, Douglas Hyde. Most of these have never been published before and a handful have never been seen by the public. They are letters of congratulations, of resignation, of sympathy. A handwritten note from a president to a queen, a message sent to the moon, a fond farewell from a poet. There are letters of joy and loss, begging letters and threatening ones, sent from palaces, parliaments and prisons, from war zones, refugee camps and homeless shelters. Meticulously researched and hand-picked for this unique book, these correspondences bring to life our presidents, Áras an Uachtaráin and all those who have passed through its doors. The Presidents’ Letters is a beautiful homage to the art of the letter, exploring how each of our presidents defined their eras and how they strengthened the relationship between Ireland and all who identify as Irish. The book is divided into thematic sections, rather than separate chapters on the individual presidencies and featuring contributions in the form of one-page chapter introductions to contextualise the correspondence. Contributors include: David McCullagh | Rory Montgomery | Martina Devlin | Catriona Crowe | Samantha Barry | Joseph O’Connor | Harry McGee | Lise Hand | Justine McCarthy | Paul Rouse | Terri Kearney

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As we close out the decade of centenaries, and approach a re-appraisal of the Civil War our nation has never truly confronted, John Dorney’s engaging history of those years – now in paperback for the first time – is a must read. Within the space of just a dozen years, Ireland was completely transformed. From being a superficially loyal part of the British Empire, it emerged as a self-governing state. How and why did Ireland go from welcoming royalty in 1912 to independence in 1922? In this exciting new updated edition, drawing on new research and the most recent material in this field, John Dorney, historian and editor of The Irish Story website, examines the roots of the revolution, using the experiences of the men and women of the time.

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This is a love story, set in the Irish literary world between 1986 and 2015. When they were first introduced by the poet Derek Mahon, Alannah Hopkin was an arts journalist turned full-time writer and Aidan Higgins, twenty-three years her senior, was a literary stylist, often cited as the heir to Ireland’s great Modernist tradition. They wrote steadily during their twenty-nine years together, but their careers could not have been more different: while Aidan focused on fiction and memoirs, Alannah prioritised work that paid the bills. This gave Aidan the most stable and productive years of his life. But as his eyesight failed and his memory began to fade, Alannah became his carer and had to fight to keep her own writing career alive. Drawing from diaries and notebooks, and correspondence with writers such as Samuel Beckett, Alice Munro and Harold Pinter, this is a unique record of a major Irish writer. From the joyful honeymoon years – filled with launches, festivals and visits to their Kinsale home by Richard Ford, Edna O’Brien and other literary legends – to the increasingly difficult years of Aidan’s decline, Hopkin tells their story candidly and without commentary. She shows us how, in spite of all, they remained the best of friends, in love until Aidan’s very last breath. A Very Strange Man is an exceptional piece of writing, objective and authoritative, personal, honest and moving.

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The making of Ryan’s Daughter in Dingle 1969 is shrouded in myth and sensational stories. Hollywood superstars in late-1960s Ireland, the Irish climate, the studio system and one of film’s greatest auteurs all combined into a troubled and fabled production. Fifty years on, Sunday Times journalist Paul Benedict Rowan reveals in fascinating detail why David Lean’s behemoth holds such a unique place in movie history, bringing together exclusive interviews with cast and crew, as well as many stills photographs taken on- and off-set. Rowan pieces all into a definitive rollercoaster account of the making of one of Lean’s last films.

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In early 2018, Erin Darcy created an online art project, In Her Shoes – Women of the Eighth, to safely and anonymously share private stories of the real and devastating impact of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Ireland. In the five months leading up to the referendum on abortion, the project asked a simple question of undecided voters: put yourself in her shoes. Within weeks, Erin was receiving hundreds of stories from a broad spectrum of experiences of planned and unplanned terminations. By the time Ireland historically voted Yes to Repeal the Eighth on 25 May 2018, the page had gathered over 100,000 followers, was reaching over four million readers each week and had been featured by international news outlets. What began as a solo act of grassroots activism by a mother and an artist had unleashed a national conversation on human rights that would change Ireland forever. Where once there had been silence and shame, now there was honesty and empathy. For 43 per cent of voters, it was ‘stories in the media’ that influenced their decision to vote Yes. But for Erin Darcy, In Her Shoes was also a distraction from her own heartbreaking loss, loneliness and depression as she grieved her mother’s death and sought a community of her own. In time, it became an act of healing, as she connected with other women, mothers and campaigners who felt the same overwhelming need to do something. Here, In Her Shoes: Women of the Eighth reproduces thirty-two of those anonymous stories, representing the entire island of Ireland. Published with their authors’ consent and illustrated by Erin, they are powerful testimonies to storytelling as salvation from heartache, stigma and threat. Together, they record lived truths previously omitted from history and signal a monumental change in the social landscape of our country.

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Part of the Open Door series of short books for emerging readers. Mr Bolton and his faithful dog, George, are just popping down to the shops. He forgot his keys, but Mrs Bolton will be there to let them in like always. But on the way back, George notices something wrong - they turned right when they should have turned left, bringing them farther from home. To make things worse, it's beginning to look like rain. The old friends set off on a journey across Dublin and through their memories, which seem to be disappearing one by one...

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Find out what the gaeilgeoir means when he/she uses the Irish words for ‘nerdy’, ‘well-hung’, ‘effing and blinding’, ‘slimeball’ or ‘drop-dead-gorgeous’? It’s all there, with numerous entries under the letters C and F. Already a cult hit, Kiss My... will appeal to the Irish-language student and the open-minded traveller alike.

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Part of the Open Door series of short books for emerging readers. When twenty-something year old Lizzie inherits a crumbling mansion from her uncle, she moves to a remote village where the locals watch with bemusement as she struggles to renovate it. Under pressure from relatives to sell up and move out, Lizzie struggles to make ends meet. However, always at the back of her mind is her mother's sage advice that midsummer is a magical time of opportunity when anything could happen...

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‘Courting is a wonderfully empathic and inclusive book about love and community and all the different ways people can build a good life.’―Patrick Freyne Looking for love – the most human quest of them all – has been transformed in recent years, with new technology removing the need to be in ‘the right place at the right time’. Dating has never been more convenient, varied or disposable and we Irish have taken to it with gusto ... and not just in cities. Courting: Tractor Dates, Macra Babies and Swiping Right in Rural Ireland tells a variety of honest and touching stories of trying to meet The One in a rural setting, where the ingredients for successful dating – choice, proximity, free time and, for some, alcohol and anonymity – aren’t always guaranteed. Liadán Hynes travels from family farms to tiny islands, village pubs to remote communities, to sit down with childhood sweethearts, long-lost loves and singles, ever hopefuls and lonely hearts, as they navigate this quest through tractor dates, Macra, dating apps and more. They candidly describe swiping for love and moving for it, hooking up and settling down, all while inheriting a 24/7 farm job or coming out, returning to the home place or joining the pandemic exodus. Revealing the importance of community, diversity and, above all, hope and resilience, Courting is an insightful and unique window into dating in rural Ireland today.

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Annie West's irreverent art brings to life W.B. Yeats’s futile pursuit of the beautiful, unobtainable Maud Gonne. Introduced by Theo Dorgan, and complete with poetry by Yeats as well as quotes by those who bore witness to his infatuation, including Katharine Tynan, Douglas Hyde and his own sisters, Lolly and Lily, Yeats in Love is a truly original depiction of a decades-long adolescent crush.

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