Dufour Editions
The battle for Cork; July-August 1922.
This book tells the story of the battle for Cork during the Irish Civil War in 1922. In August of that year, Emmet Dalton and 450 Free State soldiers landed at Passage West for a surprise attack on the city, which was a symbol of Republican resistance to the new Provisional Government. It sparked a three-day fight and ended with the final defeat of Republican Cork. From a Cork perspective and drawing on key histories and primary sources, it describes conditions before the battle and what led up to it, the battle itself, the aftermath, and how the Republicans lost, taking a great blow to their Civil War campaign. Distributed in the US by Dufour Editions, Inc. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Endangered masculinities in Irish poetry; 1540-1780.
Drawing on feminist, postcolonial and queer theory, McKibben (Irish language and literature, Notre Dame) examines the response to impinging English colonialism by early modern Ireland's hereditary bardic professional poets. When, under the rule of King Henry VIII, England increased its encroachments into Irish land and its destruction of Irish culture, Ireland's poets responded by warning, in verse, of English falsity and ill intent, and portraying new colonial relationships as shameful and emasculating. Meanwhile, they increasingly portrayed Ireland itself as a shamed, fallen, female figure. McKibben analyzes colonial power and gender relationships in many genres of traditional Irish poetry including elegy, satire, aisling (or "vision" poem), accentuated verse, song, oral lesson, and comic verse. Distributed by Dufour (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
From the earth, a cry; the story of John Boyle O'Reilly.
Kenneally, who is working on a doctorate in history at National U. Ireland Galway, presents a biography of Irish journalist, writer, and humanitarian John Boyle O'Reilly (1844-1890) that considers the man as a soldier, Fenian, convict, newspaper editor, novelist, poet, family man, civil rights activist, and immigrant. O'Reilly was born in Meath and later worked in England before joining the British army, while also recruiting for the revolutionary Fenian Brotherhood. He was discovered and sent to prison, then sent to Western Australia where he escaped to the US. He became editor of The Pilot, a Boston newspaper, and an advocate for the rights of workers and African Americans. He kept connections to Ireland through his roles in the Land League and Home Rule movements and worked with Michael Davitt and Charles Stewart Parnell, as well as John Devoy and in the Catalpa rescue. Distributed in the US by Dufour Editions. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The missing postman; what really happened to Larry Griffin?
This narrative mystery examines the events surrounding the disappearance of Irish postman Larry Griffin, who failed to return home from his rounds on Christmas day, 1929, and was presumed to have met with foul play. Drawing on interviews with relatives, police files and contemporary media accounts, the work explores the heavy handed police investigation, the rogue's gallery of suspects and the eventual collapse of the case. Ó Drisceoil is a journalist and producer for RTÉ. Distributed in the US by Dufour Editions Inc. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
More lives than one; the remarkable Wilde family through the generations.
This work chronicles seven generations of the Wilde family's scandals as well as its triumphs, in order to offer new insight on writer Oscar Wilde. There is much material on Oscar Wilde's parents, the revolutionary Irish poet Lady Jane Wilde, and the surgeon and archaeologist Sir William Wilde, who fathered three illegitimate children. The sensational court case of Sir William Wilde, accused of sexual misconduct with a younger woman, foreshadowed the court case that would destroy his son Oscar Wilde a generation later. The book offers new information on Oscar Wilde's time in prison and on the deaths of Sir William Wilde's secret daughters. B&w historical photos and illustrations, color photos of sites, and a family tree are included. Appendices list publications of Sir William Wilde, Lady Jane Wilde, and Oscar Wilde. Handberry teaches English at St. Edna's College, UK. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The outrages 1920-1922; the IRA and the Ulster Special Constabulary in the border campaign.
This volume recounts events and the loss of life in Northern Ireland from 1920 to 1922 as the War of Independence escalated. It tells of attacks on the Royal Irish Constabulary by the Irish Republican Army and the reprisals, the impact in Westminster, and how Winston Churchill, James Craig, and Michael Collins reacted. It details the incidents and killings by both sides in the border counties and Northern Ireland, beginning with the attacks on RIC barracks and including those on the Great Northern Railway and its staff, and the creation and activities of the Ulster Special Constabulary. Distributed in the US by Dufour Editions. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Pluralism and diversity in Ireland; prejudice and related issues in early 21st century Ireland.
This compilation is based on a national survey conducted from November 2001 to March 2008, sponsored in part by the Irish government. The survey consisted of hour-long, face-to-face interviews with a cross section of the population, and it was the third such survey conducted by MacGréil. Earlier surveys reported on the Greater Dublin area in 1972-73, and the Republic of Ireland in 1988-89. After discussion of minorities in Ireland, and the theory and methodology of the study, subsequent chapters report on results. Attitudes surveyed include ethnic and racial prejudices and attitudes towards Northern Ireland, the British, social categories, the Travelling People, women politics, the Irish language, religion, and authoritarianism, among other topics. Material is presented in both tables and narrative. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Seán Lemass; democratic dictator.
Was Irish Prime Minister Seán Lemass (1899-1971) a proto-neoliberal, a socialist, or a mixture of both? Evans (Humanities Institute of Ireland, U. College Dublin) reappraises his ideas and influence and argues that if Lemass is given the title 'architect of modern Ireland,' he must also take the blame for some of the negative aspects of Irish history, due to his weak commitment to pluralism, his authoritarian and populist leanings, and his adherence to classical values of Irish political culture such as state bureaucracy. Cutting through the nostalgia of the Fianna Fáil golden age, the author sheds light on under-researched episodes in Lemass's life. The book includes b&w historical photos and many political cartoons. It is intended as a critical accompaniment to John Horgan's book Enigmatic Patriot. The book is distributed in the US by Dufour Editions. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Search dogs and me; one man and his life-saving dogs.
Powell relates his work with dogs in mountain search and rescue, drowned victim recovery, collapsed structure searching, and optical disc and drug detection situations over the past 40 years in Ireland, the UK, and elsewhere. He traces how he came up with the idea to involve dogs in search and rescue, trained his first dog, and created the first search and rescue dog team in Ireland, and describes the many dogs he worked with. Distributed by Dufour Editions. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
