The past and present of the west of Ireland continue to shape the work of historians, artists and writers. The Art of Place: People and Landscape of County Clare (The Liffey Press, €35) edited by Peadar King and Anne Jones, with colour photographs by John Kelly, collects 31 thought-provoking pieces in an immaculate anthology. Some contribute as residents of Clare, others as visitors, but all have thoughtfully set down their views on how the county nourishes them and its compelling influence on their work. A raft of musicians and composers, sculptors and craft workers, photographers and film-makers, present their reflections.
Mary Hawkes-Greene, who runs the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan, has been enchanted by the area since she first glimpsed the limestone hills in the summer of 1981. She writes of the artists, poets and philosophers drawn to the Burren: “It was the ineffable call to essence, to return to source — the source of imagination.” The music of Martin Hayes, who grew up in the parish of Killanena in northeast Clare and whose father played the fiddle in the Tulla Céilí Band, is inextricably linked with the county. For him, the music “comes out of the soil and the land of Clare, out of the people, out of the way of life, out of its history … a deep sweet melancholy that was for me the gateway into a world of music.”
Kenmare: History and Survival (Eastwood Books, €20) by Colum Kenny concentrates on events in the Kerry town between 1600 and 1900. The centrepiece of the book looks at the work of Fr John O’Sullivan, parish priest of Kenmare from 1839 to 1874, who during the Famine lobbied influential bankers in London on behalf of the poor and gave evidence to a select committee of MPs.
The author has searched records of the Kenmare workhouse and O’Sullivan’s unpublished journals and depicts the harsh aspects of life during the Famine. An intriguing chapter, Amazon, Slattern or Saint? is devoted to women in Kenmare’s past. Workhouse nurses, nuns, lace makers and the “souper” Katherine Franks-Mahony, known as Yellow Kate (Caít Bhudihe an tSúip) whose heart was said to be as “sore as a rotten crab”, are introduced. She had a notorious reputation in folklore, ran a proselytising Protestant school, and was described by a parish priest as a “viper” and “wicked”.
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Another survey of part of the west, Tourmakeady: History & Society (Mayo Historic Estates, €25) by Brigid Clesham is an engaging analysis of ultra-local history. A comprehensive volume, the book embraces a multiplicity of subjects including the social, economic and cultural evolution of the parish, emigration, geography, education, and law and order.
Set in a remote area of Co Mayo, on the western shore of Lough Mask, Tourmakeady is sheltered by the Partry Mountains and is part of the Gaeltacht. It has long been a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts. Twenty-one chapters record the area’s development in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The final chapter focuses on famous people with connections to Tourmakeady. Among them is the actor Mick Lally, who played the character of Miley Byrne in the television series Glenroe, Msgr James Horan, promoter of Knock Airport, Gráinne Seoige, the Irish-speaking television presenter, the artist Patrick Tuohy and the author and composer Brendan Graham who wrote the lyrics to the song You Raise Me Up.
Historic aspects of life in the neighbouring region of Lough Corrib and Cong are explored in Westward Ho! A Ramble Through Galway, 1840-1950 (Galway Public Libraries, ed. Josephine Vahey and Patria McWalter). A collection of essays examines how travellers documented the area in their writing and painting. They include the Victorian polymath Sir William Wilde who wrote about Loch Corrib, Anna Maria and Samuel Carter Hall’s Galway tour in the 1840s, and in 1942 Richard Hayward, who published Corrib Country and wrote two books on Connacht in his series This is Ireland.
Delightful 19th century watercolour paintings of the streets of Galway and the Connemara landscape by William Evans of Eton, as well as the mid-20th century work of James Humbert Craig and Raymond Piper are sprinkled throughout the pages. This exquisitely produced book is available free from libraries in Galway city and county.
Since its official launch in 2014 the Wild Atlantic Way has stirred considerable interest. Some 30 locations along the route are the focus of Richard Butler’s Towns on the Wild Atlantic Way (O’Brien Press, €12.99) which meshes historical detail with present-day life alongside colour photographs. The author feels that towns have sometimes been relegated to second fiddle in comparison with mountains, lighthouses or beaches, and redresses this balance.
A similar style with fact-packed references accompanied by sketches, The Little Book of the Wild Atlantic Way (History Press, £14.99) by Helen Lee is a miscellany of titbits. The timeline chronology outlines how in November 1755 an earthquake in Lisbon led to a tsunami hitting the west coast of Ireland. It resulted in serious flooding, silting up of an estuary at Timoleague in Cork and damaging the Spanish Arch in Galway. Scientists today believe that the earthquake measured between 8.5 and 9 on the Richter Scale.
