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Post by Moe on May 9, 2008 16:52:08 GMT -5
I'm an avid reader (and have a discount card that says so ;D) and I am seeking some recommendations for books coming out of Ireland these days (Joyce has been done, etc). Fiction or non-fiction - I read both. So if you're reading an "Irish book" and think it's worth reading, I'd appreciate hearing about it. Edit: I have read a book by someone named Roma Ryan....
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Angoid
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Bogus Book
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Post by Angoid on May 10, 2008 1:05:49 GMT -5
The one by Roma Ryan wouldn't happen to be Water Shows the Hidden Heart, would it Moe?
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Post by Moe on May 10, 2008 10:32:12 GMT -5
Um, how on earth did you guess?
Have folks here read it? Should we have a thread about it?
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Post by Treecat on Jun 3, 2008 8:08:17 GMT -5
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2008 12:26:57 GMT -5
Moe, maybe you can try the "Dublin saga" by Edward Rutherfurd. There are 2 books:
1. "Dublin - The Foundation" 2. "The Rebels of Ireland"
Both books are very interesting to read. They show the foundation and development of Dublin through the centuries; from the late Celtic time in the 5th century - the time when the Vikings came; the battle of Clontarf... That's a bit of the first book.
The 2nd book begins with the 17th century and continues with the Great Famine in Ireland until it ends with the Easter Rising from 1916 - 1920.
If you're interested in Irish history, I can really recommend those books.
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Suvi
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Post by Suvi on Oct 14, 2022 3:32:50 GMT -5
Anyone familiar with Kevin Toolis? Well, as part of this year's edition of The Irish Festival of Oulu, I attended a church event entitled Wonders Of The Wake just yesterday evening, and was completely blown away by it! The event is based on Kevin Toolis's book " My Father's Wake" (How The Irish Teach Us To Live, Love And Die), and it is a celebration of life and death through (bardic) poetry, storytelling and music. Kevin himself is the narrator of the show, and he is joined by the stunning musicians Caitríona Ní Cheannabháin, Maria Harnett, Kate Heneghan, Sal Heneghan and David Durham (David was not present in the performance I attended though). Because the event is a showcase of so many different fields of culture, it is not easy for me to describe it, but basically, it combines poetry, stories and music together so magically that I nearly lost the time and place when I sat there in the (almost full) church listening. Obviously as a Finn I had to stay focused in order to understand what was going on, but still, it was an extremely mesmerizing experience! We heard the singers doing "keening", we heard what is called "prumsái" and how people still have craic together amid all the grieving, and how all that is very social and not introverted at all. Everyone is taking part to the wake, even those who didn't know the person deceased so well. There is sorrow present of course, but then again, I kind of like the "happier" approach with death and how the Irish celebrate the (past) life of the deceased and his/her legacy and be thankful of it. Also, the show taught us how to demystificate death, often it is seen "clinical" and not "natural". In Ireland, even small children are brought to the wake and see the dead body lying in the coffin, which in my opinion is a good thing as it demystifies the death even better. After all, we die anyway! Music-wise it was a very haunting event, we heard e.g. Parting Glass, Óró 'Sé do bheatha 'bhaile, Eleanor Plunkett, Danny Boy, Will Ye Go Lassie Go and some kind of "keening" lament in Irish Gaelic where I (thanks to Enya) recognised the words "och ochón agus ochón ó (I think it was Lament Of The Three Marys)". Beyond haunting! I won't explain this any further, I just urge you to experience this show if you can!! Worth for every second!! Suvi
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