But the wealthy Fitzgeralds who live at Ballygrace have little time for village girls, until Madeleine, their unstable, delicate daughter, meets Tara. Tara is everything Madeleine isn't, yet the two girls find themselves becoming firm friends. When Tara meets Gabriel, Madeleine's older brother, she becomes painfully aware of the differences between the Fitzgeralds and the Flynns. Without a wealthy family behind her, Tara will have to work her way to the life she dreams of. Then Tara finds herself with a heartbreaking decision to make, and must leave the world of Ballygrace behind her and flee to England . . .

    When it's heard that the builders are coming to work on the deserted house next door, everyone has an opinion.

    It bewitches her like a spell. It is something mysterious and powerful that Darcy McBride must follow beyond the cliffs of Kerry. Ireland in 1755 is a terrible place ravaged by famine and the brutal occupation by the British. There seems to be no escape. Darcy joins a group of smugglers who trade illegally with the French and when the operation is discovered, she is transported to the English Colonies for servitude. Shattered by war and bloodshed, Darcy finds the colonists on a feeding frenzy of survival. She refuses to be devoured and meets them with determination and fire, stopping them in their tracks. When she confronts the brash and attractive Jean Michel Lupe', a surveyor for the Crown, sparks fly, and Darcy meets her match. His blend of refinement and frontier masculinity unsettles and entices her. Together, they are swept into a whirlwind of violence and intrigue that threatens their love and their survival."As he stepped out into the pouring rain, Jean Michel had to regain his composure. He was not sure he liked the feelings that were churning inside him. This McBride woman had the ability to reach into his soul and open doors he thought were closed forever. She ignited a desire in him that was beyond anything he had ever imagined. Confused and overwhelmed, he blamed it on long months without carnal pleasures, and pushing it from his mind; he started down the path for the McDermott homestead."

    At the heart of that campaign lies one man: Gerry Adams. From the outbreak of the troubles to the present day, he has been an immensely influential figure. The most compelling question about the IRA is: how did a man who condoned atrocities that resulted in huge numbers of civilian deaths also become the guiding light behind the peace process? Moloney's book is now updated to encompass the anxious and uneasy peace that has prevailed to 2007.

    So much of what people today accept as ancient Irish history--Celtic invaders from Europe turning Ireland into a Celtic nation; St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland and converting its people to Christianity--is myth and legend with little basis in reality. The truth is more interesting. The Irish, as the authors show, are not even Celtic in an archaeological sense. And there were plenty of bishops in Ireland before a British missionary called Patrick arrived. But In Search of Ancient Ireland is not simply the story of events from long ago. Across Ireland today are festivals, places, and folk customs that provide a tangible link to events thousands of years past. The authors visit and describe many of these places and festivals, talking to a wide variety of historians, scholars, poets, and storytellers in the very settings where history happened. Thus the book is also a journey on the ground to uncover ten thousand years of Irish identity. In Search of Ancient Ireland is the official companion to the three-part PBS documentary series. With 14 black-and-white photos, 6 b&w illustrations, and 1 map.

    But when the baby gave her first cry, thewind shushed to a whisper and the stars began to sing.Brigid's Cloak retells an ancient tale about one of Ireland's most beloved saints. On the day she is born Brigid receives a brilliant blue cloak from a mysterious Druid. Years later, the young girl still wears the now tattered but beloved cloak while she tends her sheep. Is it her imagination that suddenly takes her to an unfamiliar land? Or is it something far greater that leads Brigid to a crowded inn in a town called Bethlehem?Bryce Milligan's eloquently told story about Brigid is a moving tale of compassion and wonder. Beautifully illustrated by Helen Cann, Brigid's Cloak sparkles with the timelessness of legend and the transcending power of faith.

    Following in the grand tradition of such Irish memoirs as Angela’s Ashes and Are You Somebody?, Liam Clancy relates his life’s story in a raucously funny and star-studded account of moving from provincial Ireland to the bars and clubs of New York City, to the cusp of fame as a member of Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers. Born in 1935, the eleventh out of as many children, young Liam was a naive and innocent lad of the Old Country. His memories of childhood include bounding over hills, streams, and the occasional mountain, getting lost, and eventually found, and making mischief in the way of a typical Irish boy.As an aimless nineteen-year-old, Clancy met a strange and wonderfully energetic lover of music, Ms. Diane Guggenheim, an American heiress. She and a colleague from America had set out to record regional Irish folk music, and their undertaking led them to Carrick-on-Suir in the shadow of Slievenamon, "The Mountain of the Women," where Mammie Clancy had been known to carry a tune or two in her kitchen. Guggenheim fell for young Liam and swept him along on her travels through the British Isles, the American Appalachians, and finally Greenwich Village, the undisputed Mecca for aspiring artists of every ilk in the late 1950s. Clancy was in New York to become an actor. But on the side, he played and sang with his brothers, Paddy and Tom, and fellow countryman Tommy Makem, in pubs like the legendary White Horse Tavern. In the heady atmosphere of the Village, Clancy’s life was a party filled with music, sex, and McSorley’s. His friendships with then-unknown artists such as Bob Dylan, Maya Angelou, Robert Redford, Lenny Bruce, Pete Seeger and Barbra Streisand form the backdrop of the charming adventures of a small-town boy making it big in the biggest of cities. In music circles, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem are known as the Beatles of Irish music. The band’s music continues to play on jukeboxes in pubs and bars, in living rooms of folk music fans, and in Irish American homes throughout the country. Liam Clancy’s lively memoir captures their wild adventures on the road to fame and fortune, and brings to life a man who never lets himself off the hook for his sins, and happily views his success as a blessing.From the Hardcover edition.

    The semi-independent prince of the Hebrides and much of the West Highland mainland, he was a worthy representative of a notable line, living in dramatic and exciting times for Scotland, England, and Ireland. He took his part in it all, an active supporter of Robert the Bruce, encouraging trade, seeking to heal the feuding propensities of his people, allying the Isles with Orkney and Shetland and Norway, and travelling as far as the Baltic.

    Before the author's rediscoveries, most of the vast number of ancient sites were unknown or almost forgotten except by locals. Features: *Simple wells and stones *Local pilgrimage spots *Holy mountains, lakes and rivers *Sites created by the Auld Giants *Pre-Celtic Temples *Ancient churches and round towers

    Is filíocht úr í ina bpléann an file an choimhlint idir mionchultúr na Gaeilge agus mórchultúr an Bhéarla. Ceistítear féiniúlachtaí Éireannacha inti mar aon le ceist an aistriúcháin Bhéarla, agus úsáideann an file personae agus glórtha difriúla chun na téamaí sin a scrúdú. Is Feirsteach é Gearóid agus tugann sé léargas nua dúinn ar a chathair dhúchais is ar an saol ó thuaidh, gan leisce air amharc ar oidhreacht na dTrioblóidí. Tá glóir agus stíl nua Mhic Lochlainn ag cur le scóip na litríochta.For the first time young Belfast poet Gearóid Mac Lochlainn’s collected works are published here with English translations. His poetry explores the shifting relationships and conflicts between the Irish language and the English language and raises questions about the role of tradition, Irish identities and the nature of translation itself. Gearóid looks unflinchingly at the legacy of the Troubles and colonialism in the North. This is an original and sometimes shocking new voice in Irish literature.

    Risking his own freedom and career, Anthony sailed across international waters to Australia, to rescue from hellish imprisonment the group of British-soldiers-turned-Irish-rebels named "The Fremantle Six." The successful escape and hostility the vulnerable Catalpa overcame both from the British Royal Navy and furious seas make Anthony's historical voyage legendary. 8 pages of photographs add to this true story of daring on the high seas. "Narrated in fascinating and breathtaking fashion. ... The subject matter and fine writing make this book exhilarating."—Associated Press "A seafaring adventure, an Irish nationalist version of Treasure Island." —Chicago Tribune "Truth may routinely be stranger than fiction, but seldom is it as suspenseful as this story."—Publishers Weekly "Genuinely epic ... a fascinating adventure."—Kirkus Review

    A must for anyone who has always longed to sing the old songs of Ireland, this book and CD decodes the Irish language for those who aspire to sing these songs without them having to undertake an Irish language course. The fourteen songs are presented in an accessible fashion. On the CD, the author speaks each phrase slowly, leaving a pause for the student to imitate the pronunciation. The author then sings each song in a simple, plain style, conducive to learning. The book has the sheet music, guitar chords, phonetics, Irish lyrics, and a translation and background to each song. There is an introduction which gives information on traditional singing in Irish as well as a guide to the phonetic system used. The songs are graded linguistically and musically so that the student can build up skills as she or he progresses through the book.

    She wants to film a documentary about Quentins that will capture the spirit of Dublin from the 1970s to the present day. And Quentins has a thousand stories to tell: tales of love, of betrayal, of revenge; of times when it looked ready for success and times when it seemed as if it must close in failure. But as Ella uncovers more of what has gone on at Quentins, she begins to wonder whether some secrets should be kept that way... With Quentins, Maeve Binchy follows her bestselling Scarlet Feather with a new book that delivers the hallmark storytelling that has kept millions of her readers happy for more than twenty years.

    Novel Historical Fiction A story based on actual events of Michael and Mary as they flee the Irish famine of the 1840's.

    Six stories -- one set in Dublin, the others in the countryside -- about children who get caught up in the War of Independence and suffer dire consequences.Mattie Foley dreams of escaping the harshness of life in the Dublin slums, but her dreams and reality become dangerously entwined with the discovery of a gun.When Statia Mulligan sets off to get feed for the hens, she longs for the peace and quiet of her favourite spot by the stream; she doesn't expect to become part of an ambush.Larry Quinn goes after the cow that has strayed -- how could he know that in his absence the Black and Tans would force his mother to reveal all she knows?

    

    Patrick's Day, step dancing, the Celtic harp, and the word trousers. They all came from the Emerald Isle -- and so did the jack-o'-lantern!

    In 1904 he produced a devastating report which showed how the Congo Free State, far from being the model colony Leopold II of Belgium claimed it to be, was a ruthless commercial enterprise run with unrelenting cruelty for Leopold's profit. Six years later he provided an even more horrifying report on how Amazonian Indians were exploited by the Peruvian Amazon company, a British-based rubber company. For this he was knighted in 1911. An Irish nationalist, when war broke out in 1914 he went to Germany to secure a treaty giving Ireland formal recognition of her nationhood. Upon returning in a u-boat to Ireland in 1916 he was captured, brought to London and sentenced to death as a traitor. To blacken his name further, rumours about his black diaries claimed that he was a practising homosexual. The author Brian Inglis was allowed access to the relevant files at the Public Record Office in order to help research this biography.

    She longs to wear her embroidered Irish dress and dance before an audience. But when she isn’t chosen for the upcoming feis, an Irish step-dancing competition, Kathleen is crushed. She soon learns, however, that the dance itself is its own reward.

    He cuts a branch of blackthorn tree so he can take a piece of Ireland with him and whittles it into a shillelagh. Each St. Patrick's Day, Fergus tells the story of how he came to America, and of the shillelagh that brought him. Many years later, Fergus's granddaughter Kayleigh is given the shillelagh, making her the keeper of the family story. Full-color illustrations.

    Fifty years later, it was the last Gaelic part. In 1607 Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and other Gaelic chieftains fled the continent and settled in Rome. Their lands were declared forfeit to the crown and were cleared for the plantation of Ulster, which followed.

    He was the youngest son of Ireland's state physician and was educated privately at Trinity College Dublin. Like many young people in the early 1790s, he was caught up in the fervor of the French Revolution. In the revolutionary year of 1798, when three different insurrections broke out in Ireland, he was expelled from Trinity College, thus ending his prospects of a professional career. He went to the Continent where he met both Napoleon and Talleyrand and returned to Dublin where he organized and led the doomed insurrection of May 1803. No foreign help came. There were probably spies in the camp, and Emmet's rising was quickly crushed. He was tried and executed, but not before making a speech from the dock which has resonated through subsequent Irish history. Romantic, impulsive and doomed: Emmet is one of the tragic heroes of the Irish past. "Geoghegan traces the details of his military preparations which involved much study, and then takes us through their rapid unraveling. The description of Emmet's jailing, trial and execution is consistently compelling. The speech, its various reported versions and its long posterity as an inspiring document are also clearly chronicled."-Books Ireland.

    

    The day Collins was buried, businesses across Dublin shut down as thousands lined the streets to pay their respects. And on that day, Michael Lyons, a cooper from the Guinness factory taking advantage of the day off, drowned quietly in Dublin's Royal Canal.In Ireland's Eye, Mark Anthony Jarman uses this confluence -- a famous death and an obscure death -- as the starting point for a meditation on the intertwined history of a nation and his pursuit of the circumstances of his grandfather's drowning.Thwarted by family gossip, aunts who can't drive shift, cousins more interested in pubs than lore, and his own fascination with the many Irelands that have been, Jarman finds what he's seeking despite, or perhaps because of, the antics and the unreliable histories. What he reconfigures is a revelation, and an enchanting and engrossing read.

    Foreword by Mary Oliver. Self-published.'Here are both the rough and exquisite of Ireland's creation – the repose of rock, the vivacity of wind and mist, the bravado of heath moss and delicate cotton flowers in the vast Irish fields....To see such wildness balanced, as it must be at winter solstice and summer solstice, is Rachel Brown's purpose and achievement.'—from the Foreword by Mary Oliver16 duotone photographsFrench translation by Muriel Adrien available as insert."