The Irish Book Review

by T. Ryle Dwyer

A wonderful, full-colour celebratory book to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the unique event that is The Rose of Tralee International Festival. The Rose selection reaches a television audience of millions, as well as attracting thousands of people to Tralee.

T. Ryle Dwyer’s lyrical text traces the history of the Rose and is packed full of fascinating detail on the events that accompany the Festival, from the donkey derbies and Tug-o-Wars of yesteryear, to the spectacular fireworks and street celebrations of today’s Festival. Over 200 photographs will record the crowds, the supporters, the Rose parades, the personalities, with nostalgic shots of Festivals past.

In an extraordinary attempt to recreate St Brendan’s journey to America, Tim Severin and his crew embarked on an epic voyage across the vast North Atlantic. Brilliantly written, this is their story.

It has been described as the greatest epic voyage in modern Irish history.
Tim Severin and his companions built a boat using only techniques and materials available in the sixth-century A.D., when St Brendan was supposed to have sailed to America. The vessel comprised forty-nine ox hides stitched together in a patchwork and stretched over a wooden frame. This leather skin was only a quarter of an inch thick. Yet Severin and his crew sailed Brendan from Brandon Creek in Dingle to Newfoundland, surviving storms and a puncture from pack ice. The Brendan Voyage is Tim Severin’s dramatic account of their journey. This new edition of a book already translated into twenty-seven languages introduces a new generation of readers to an enduring classic.

by Michael Harrington

The Munster Republic follows the course of the Civil War in North Cork, the crucible of events in ‘the Munster Republic’

The fall of Limerick and the Free State victory during the pitched battle at Kilmallock started a new phase of the Civil War.

Although the towns of North Cork were occupied by Free State troops, the IRA brigades under officers like Liam Deasy, Tom Barry and Liam Lynch were still active until 15 May 1923 when HQ Cork No. 4 Brigade issued orders warning all officers who failed to obey the ceasefire order that they would face court-martial.