Tag Archives: book

More than two thirds of couples are meeting online, according to the author of a new book “Third Time Lucky at Table L2”. The increasing popularity of online dating has prompted a Broadford woman to provide a guide with useful tips to navigate what can be a “quagmire” for those who are ill-prepared to distinguish between a virtual lothario and a genuine lover. It is a book about internet dating, demonstrating what to expect when looking for love online interspersed with true stories of romantic adventures and misadventures. The book will be launched in the Washer Woman, Ballina, Killaloe on Saturday, September 2, at 7.30pm. Now living in Ballina, Killaloe, her book has a happy ending as she chronicles how she found love just across the river with her current partner. “I was at a wedding recently where the couple met on “Plenty of Fish”, which was where I met my partner, Kerry Blake, who is in my final chapter,” …

WITH a love for music that goes back to his childhood, it’s little surprise that Ennis author Ollie Byrnes has decided to write a book on the subject. Ollie is currently working on his latest publication ‘Music in Ennis’, examining the history of music in the county capital from 1950 onwards. Already he has amassed a wealth of information for the book including nearly 300 high quality photographs. Speaking to us about the planned publication he outlines, “For many years the writing of a book on music has been on my mind but I could not think of an angle, something that had not been done. Then a friend said “why not write a book on the Ennis scene, taking in all musical styles”? Recalling where his love of music began he says, “As a child, I heard the finest of Irish traditional music played live in my parent’s living room on the Gort Road, just off Marian Avenue. The …

SHANNON historian Gearóid Ó Faoleán has written a sequel to his 2019 book on support for the IRA in the Republic during the Troubles. A Broad Church: The Provisional IRA in the Republic of Ireland, Volume 2: 1980-1989 was released earlier this month. “I did the 70s the last time and the book finished off at 1980, so it’s just continuing. Also, with the 30 year rule you couldn’t even do the 90s yet, you’d have to wait until 2029 to get those details,” says Gearóid. Now based in Belfast, he works in publishing, with the new book having been written as a side project. “Lockdown was about a year after the first book came out. Everyone had spare time so I kicked off again.” The true extent of support for the Provos south of the border in the 1980s is hard to quantify, he believes. “It was much harder to tell than in the 70s. By the time you’d …

Rose Dugdale, who spurned a life of privilege to join the IRA, is the subject of a book by writer Sean O’Driscoll A DÉBUTANTE presented to Queen Elizabeth in 1958, young Rose Dugdale had a life of privilege among England’s upper class at her feet, but instead she turned her back on her upbringing, joined the IRA and spent most of the 1970s in prison. Her extraordinary life story has now been told by Ennis journalist Sean O’Driscoll in his second book, Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber: The Extraordinary Life of Rose Dugdale. Dugdale co-operated with the book and Sean spoke frequently to her during his research, while he says he was aware of the privileged revolutionary from his youth. “We used to visit cousins in Dublin and we’d pass Portlaoise prison and my mother or father  would say that’s where Eddie Gallagher (the father of Dugdale’s child, whom she married while in prison) is. On the way back down passing …

THE memoir of well-known activist and Corofin native, Dermot Hayes, is set for publication shortly after a huge response to an online funding campaign organised by his friends. ‘The Road That Rises – Memoir of Boy from Kells’ will lift the lid on a life of campaigning and community action that has challenged establishment thinking over seven decades. The book explores and documents Dermot’s life as a child growing up in Kells, Corofin and his life as an activist and campaigner in youth and community work, trade unionism, worker co-operatives, environmental causes, disability rights and the Independent Living Movement in Ireland. Taking on the establishment is a key theme and there is widespread anticipation of this memoir from a key figure behind the campaigns for disability rights in Clare, against the state’s plans for Mullaghmore and at the forefront of the push for equality legislation. Over the years, he has founded, co-founded and headed organisations to represent, campaign and progress rights …

LATE November and December is the peak book-selling time, and the author of a new major Irish political biography was in Ennis last week. Former TD Shane Ross came to town to sign copies of Mary Lou McDonald – A Republican Riddle, which grapples with an intriguing but often unasked question: how did a private school and Trinity College-educated South Dublin woman become leader of Sinn Féin of all parties? There are other questions, such as why Mary Lou wasn’t active at all in politics until her late twenties? Even when she joined a party it was Fianna Fáil; where was her commitment to republicanism? And, perhaps most worryingly in many people’s eyes, to what extent is she really the leader or are ‘shadowy figures’ in West Belfast in control of the party that won most first preference votes in the last General Election? Of particular Clare interest is the experience of Violet Anne Wynne, who Ross spoke to in …

Ahead of the launch of his new book and double CD on December 10, Enda Byrt reflects on the history of the céilí and dance bands of Ennistymon from 1954 to 1970.   COUNTY Clare is closely associated with traditional music, with an audience made up of traditional purists to passing tourists, and all in between!  Sound Your A: The story of  the Céilí and Dance bands of Ennistymon: families, music and musicians tells as much of the story of the music of Ennistymon and district, not all traditional, as can be gleaned from the recordings and the accounts of the times, as well as the music that could be gathered. Sound Your A tells the stories of the individual musicians, and their families. Much has been and continues to be written about the music and musicians of Clare. The areas receiving most attention in the West of the county are often Doolin, Kilfenora, and Miltown Malbay. All have a …

FROM the stunning scenery of the Flaggy Shore to the unspoilt splendour of Mullaghmore, these are just some of the locations that are featured in a brand new book showcasing some of the very best walks to be enjoyed in the Burren. Written by Patrick McGinley, Tim O’Connell and Eddie Joyce, the ‘Our Burren Walks’ Guidebook is being sold in support of Clarecare Family Support Service which provides a range of supports to children and parents in County Clare. Keen and extensive outdoor walkers and adventurers, Patrick, Tim and Eddie regard many of the walks in the Burren as spectacular as those anywhere in the world and they are pleased to have the opportunity to share some of their interesting Burren experiences with readers of ‘Our Burren Walks’. Patrick tells us they are hopeful the book will inspire others to get out and explore all the Burren has to offer. He says there are “dozens of reasons” to go out …