Local History: Stories from four counties and all you need to know about Limerick's industry and commerce
A History of County Clare, by Sean Spellissy.
A History of County Wicklow, by Arthur Flynn.
A History of County Kildare, by Padraic O'Farrell.
A History of County Wexford, by Nicholas Furlong.
All published by Gill and Macmillan. €14.99 each
Irish Villages - Studies in Local History
Four Courts Press. €55
Carrick-on-Suir, Town and District, 1800-2000
By Patrick C. Power.
Carrick Books
NPG Made in Limerick: A History of Industries, Trade and Commerce, Vol. 1
Limerick Civic Trust. €25
The writing of narrative history for the general reader, especially when restricted by word and page limits, is fraught with difficulties. Too detailed and the reader gets bogged down; too general and vital facts are often glossed over. The authors of the new series of county histories published by Gill and Macmillan appear to have been given a template and a limit on the number of pages (fewer than 200) by the publishers yet they have largely succeeded in their tasks and produced readable and informative accounts of their native counties. Of its nature, narrative history is derivative and the local historian must inject his own interpretations to ensure interest. There are small differences among these books - Kildare and Clare have guides to towns and villages which are lacking in the other two; Kildare has a glossary of places and people, as does Wicklow, while Clare and Wexford omit lists of public representatives. Inevitably, as in general histories of this kind, there are small errors in dates and places - New Geneva is in Waterford, not Wexford (Clare); Dermot MacMurrough did not land in Bannow in 1167 (Wicklow); Wolf Tone was from Dublin, not Belfast (Wexford). Sadly, Padraic O'Farrell, the author of Kildare's history (the best of the bunch so far) died since his book was published. For the general and inquisitive reader this series is recommended unhesitatingly.
Irish Villages - Studies in Local History is academic local history in an attractive format and is the outcome of research done by graduates of the MA course in local history at Maynooth. The villages described are Ballycastle, Co Mayo; Cloone, Co Leitrim; Kill and the Grange, Clonkeen, Co Dublin; Kilmainham, Dublin; Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford; Williamstown, Co Galway; Pomeroy, Co Tyrone; Portlaw, Co Waterford and Sixmilebridge, Co Clare. They include examples of medieval, plantation, landlord and fishing and industrial centres in Ireland and date from Norman times (late 12th century) to the 19th and 20th centuries (with Cloone, Williamstown, Portlaw and Kilmore Quay developing in the later period). The work, edited by Karina Holton, Liam Clare and Brian O Dalaigh, provides a detailed and valuable insight into the emergence of villages in the landscape of Ireland. Co Leitrim readers, particularly, will be interested to learn the location, within their county, of a graveyard that was described at an inquiry in Mohill in 1889 as "one of the most healthy parts of Ireland".
If anyone has the right to be described as Carrick-on-Suir's chronicler par excellence then it must be Dr Patrick C. Power. Author of some 16 books, mostly on local, south Tipperary, Waterford and Dungarvan subjects, he first published a book on Carrick in 1976. His current volume, Carrick-on-Suir, Town and District, 1800-2000, provides a more detailed study of the town and surrounding district and is arguably the definitive work on the area for the period in question. In 11 chronological chapters the author uses a multitude of sources to provide a comprehensive history of the town and surrounding districts over the past 200 years. The minutiae of this account, with its emphasis on names, dates, places and events, will no doubt appeal to a local readership - everything, from the story of the town clock to more serious topics such as politics, industry, sport and social life, is treated with attention and meticulousness. An example of Dr Power's exhaustive research is found on page 2: "The custom of serving salmon cutlets on the Main Street was . . . common in the first half of the 19th century. According to tradition, they were cooked on the street and sold at a penny each." With such rich material to be recorded, it is a pity that the proof reading was not better.
As the editors of the remarkable Made in Limerick: A History of Industries, Trade and Commerce Vol. 1 (David Lee and Debbie Jacobs) point out in their introduction, this is the first in a series to be published by Limerick Civic Trust recording the history of the city's industrial and commercial life, chiefly during the period 1750 to the present. Some 15 experts/write on the development and decline of some of Limerick's best-known industries (for example, O'Mara's, Cleeve's, Shaw's, Ranks and Matterson's) and their replacement by newer companies like Dell, Howmedica and Analog. Attention is also paid to trade unions, the docks, the building materials industry and the print media. Thus, the late Jim Kemmy (as a local historian) and the late John B. Keane (as a contributor to the Limerick Leader) are included among the contributors. The result is a noteworthy production of more than 360 excellently printed pages in unusual format, with many monochrome and coloured illustrations. The projected Made in Limerick series will, no doubt, be much sought-after, not just by Limerick folk but also by historians in other Irish cities and towns who would do well to study this work as an example of how to produce interesting and comprehensive local history.
• Richard Roche is a local historian, author and critic