george02
Unregistered User
(7/28/01 10:01 pm)

Anticipation kills me

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I'm going a little crazy right now. I received the airline tickets for my trip to Ireland next May in the mail this week. Finally, I have something tangible to get a little crazy over! (and I don't mean the $1,326.82 charge to my checking account)

The problem is... The trip is still 10 months away! I need some sort of mental pacifier in the meantime... Otherwise, the waiting just might kill me.

In order to hold myself over, I'm looking for books on Ireland... Not necessarily travel books. I'm especially interested in Golden Age Ireland, but I'm looking for general history books, Irish sociology, regional stuff, fiction... Anything! I'd like to put together a list of 30 odd books in all, so any suggestion would really help!

Thanks!

George

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 161
(7/29/01 1:38 am)

Anticipation is Half the Fun!

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Hi George,

I have a whole bookcase overflowing with hundreds of books that I have gathered about Ireland over the years. Off the top of my head I would recommend (in no particular order):

1. "Island of the White Cow" by Deborah Tall (out of print)

2. "Peig Sayers An Old Woman's Reflections" (Blasket Islands)

3. The series of books by Niall Williams and Christine Breen starting with "O Come Ye Back to Ireland: Our First Year in County Clare"

4. "The Great Hunger" by Cecil Woodham-Smith

5. "The Flowering of Ireland: Saints, Scholars & Kings" by Katharine Scherman

6. "1,000 Years of Irish Poetry" by Kathleen Hoagland

7. "Ireland" by Jill & Leon Uris (out of print)

8. "Of Irish Ways" by Mary Murray Delaney

9. "A Book of Ireland" edited by Frank O'Connor

10. "The Year In Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs" by Kevin Danaher

11. "Reader's Digest Illustrated Guide to Ireland"

12. "Trinity" by Leon Uris (fiction)

13. "Lion of Ireland" by Morgan Llewellen (fiction)

I would also recommend the following videos:

1. The Quiet Man (John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara)

2. The Irish R.M. (PBS series)

3. Hear My Song

4. Waking Ned Devine

5. The Secret of Roan Inish

6. Into the West

7. Ryan's Daughter (overblown love story - watch it for the Dingle scenery & John Mills performance)

I would check at the library first as some of the out of print books might be there and you will save money by checking them out rather than buying them. Your library can also do an inter-library loan and get you books from other library systems if they don't have them. You can order many of the books and videos on my shopping page: www.irelandyes.com/shopping.html . Also check with Amazon UK for books that you can't get in the USA. If you need other sources let me know as I have many.

That should keep you busy for a while. Hopefully others will start posting their lists too!

Michele

DanO
Unregistered User
(7/29/01 4:34 pm)

Ireland of the Welcomes

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Hey George, You need a subscription to the magazine Ireland of the Welcomes. It comes 6 times a year and has articles about anything and everything about Ireland. Great photos too. You will be even moer in anticipation. I have been getting this magazine for a few years and it fills the gap between going and wanting to go to IReland.

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 163
(7/30/01 1:15 am)

Re: Ireland of the Welcomes

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Hi George,

I heartily agree with DanO's suggestion of "Ireland of the Welcomes Magazine". I have been subscribing to it for decades. You can go to this site to subscribe: www.irelandofthewelcomes.com

For more suggested reading don't overlook the following authors: Yeats, Synge, Shaw, Swift & Wilde.

Michele

george02
Unregistered User
(7/30/01 11:40 am)

Thanks!

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Thanks for all of the suggestions... One more question (for now):

Do any of you know of a book about Skellig Michael, or even a book with a solid chapter on it? I'm having a heck of a time finding one.

Thanks, George

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 164
(7/30/01 6:11 pm)

Skellig Michael Books

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George,

"Forgotten Heritage of Skellig Michael" by Walter Horn

"Skellig Story : Ancient Monastic Outpost" by Des Lavelle

"Ireland's Islands: Their Landscape, Life and Legends" by Peter Somerville-Large

Try the following places for these:

www.readireland.ie/
www.irishbook.com/ibm.htm
www.kennys.ie/
www.booknest.ie
www.amazon.co.uk

Have fun searching!

Michele