The Reader's Companion to Ireland

by Alan Ryan

Release Date: 04 February, 1999

Edition: Paperback

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Ireland Past and Present

I read this book in preparation for a trip to Ireland and am writing this review in Galway, near the end of my trip. This is pertinent since the area around Galway is the focus of several essays in the book. This book is a compilation of essays from 19 different authors. The essays are arranged by time periods, starting with Arthur Symons' impression of the Aran Islands in 1896. Later a follow-up essay on the Aran Islands is by Tim Ryan in 1972. Similarly there are three essays about Galway/Connemara areas by Harold Speakman (1924), H.V. Morton (1930), and Robert Gibbings (1940s), with follow-up essays by Joyne Coyne (1980) and David McFadden (1990s). The value of this collection of essays is to show how Ireland has changed or not changed over time. The last essay in the 1990s leaves a large gap to the present 2000 because of so many changes that have taken place in the last 10 years in globalization and increased prosperity in Ireland. The book is also a good introduction to several great travel writers, whose books may be worthwhile reading in their entirety, if you find you like their style. Especially enjoyable to me were H.V. Morton's description of Galway, Chiang Lee's view of O'Connell Street in Dublin (1948), Heinrich Boll's closely-focussed view of Irish life (1954), Elizabeth Shannon's recounting of her experience as the wife of the American Ambassador (1977), and David Wilson's hilarious description of Irish music. I recommend the book, but it does not help with daily travel details.