Women in a Celtic Church: Ireland 450 - 1150
by Christina Harrington

This work is a groundbreaking study of the varieties of holy life available to, and pursued by, early medieval Irish women. The author explores a wide range of source material from legal texts, saints' lives, litanies, penitentials, canons, and poetry in order to illuminate female religious life and changes in attitudes towards it over time.

Considering that this is a scholarly publication, it is a surprisingly smooth read. The author has delved deeply into the maelstrom of Irish and Latin texts that make up the source material, resulting in a fresh and sometimes penetrating analysis of the state of holy women of various sorts in the church of Ireland circa 450-1150. However, this book is not for the impatient, the argument can sometimes take some time to build; be patient though. While most passages from the sources are provided in english translation, a knowledge of Latin would be helpful for the numerous short bits that are left untranslated, but this is not crucial for following the argument.

World Cup 2002 was a dramatic tournament for the Republic of Ireland football team. Just a week before their first game, their captain Roy Keane was sent home. This was a major blow to the Irish team. But they bounced back to score more goals than any other Irish team in a World Cup finals match. Through his diary, Niall Quinn, one of Ireland's best loved footballers, brings us the excitement of the World Cup from the inside. We are with the team through the highs and lows. And we see just how important the supporters were during this explosive time in Irish football.

Irish Fairy Tales
by Edmund Leamy
(Rare Book Collection)

In writing these stories, Edmund Leamy turned to the Gaelic past to give something to the Irish people which would implant in them a love for the beauty and dignity of their country's traditions. The book features such tales as "Princess Finola and the Dwarf" and "The Fairy Tree of Dooros".

Encyclopedia of Irish History and Culture
by: James S Donnelly
Volumes I-II

Written for a broad audience of students, academics and general readers. It spans prehistoric times to the present and treats both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in detail.
The impact of the Irish upon the arts, popular culture, scholarship, and politics has been immense. Literature in English cannot be fully understood without consideration of James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, Samuel Beckett, Seamus Heaney, among others. The Irish struggle for independence in the early twentieth century, and the strife that continues today over north-south question, have received international attention and concern. The Encyclopedia of Irish History and Culture is written for a broad audience of students, academics, and general readers. It spans prehistoric times to the present, and examines both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in detail. It offers, in A-Z format, 25 long, thematic articles on politics, economics, religion, the arts, and society; 200 mid-length entries on key movements, periods, institutions, and cities; and 175 succinct articles on specific people, groups, and events. Entries represent an inclusive, cross-disciplinary approach, written by specialists in history, archaeology, anthropology, geography, politics, economics, the Irish and English languages and literatures, the visual arts, and other fields.

 

Acting With an Accent
Irish dialect