Irish novels?

Subject: Irish novels?
From: GUEST,Terry
Date: 29 Jul 01 - 01:19 PM

I have a question for the literate and erudite group that makes up Mudcat. Like many descendants of Irish immigrants who arrived during the potato famine years, I have little to no information about my ancestors. I was wondering if there's a novel or novels describing life in Ireland during that time and the perils and hopes surrounding travel westward. Any help would be much appreciated!

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Jul 01 - 01:31 PM

a goggle search
I read one while on holiday in Ireland, I will try and find it
I am sure there is thread about this on Mudcat too

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: GUEST,roger
Date: 29 Jul 01 - 01:36 PM

one earlier thread here

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: Noreen
Date: 29 Jul 01 - 02:17 PM

The Great Hunger : Ireland, 1845-1849 by Cecil Woodham-Smith is informative and readable, and covers the whole subject pretty well.

The link above to the book at Amazon, also gives details of other books dealing with the same subject area.

BTW, searching for the Great Hunger(click) on Google will get you more relevant information and articles.

more links

Noreen

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: Roger in Sheffield
Date: 29 Jul 01 - 02:26 PM

Famine is the book I read

this is the other thread I was thinking of. Like the other thread don't dismiss it as not being relevent until you have scrolled down to the bottom

Roger

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: Brían
Date: 29 Jul 01 - 02:57 PM

That's the book, Roger, a masterful book by an amazing man.

Brían.

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: SINSULL
Date: 29 Jul 01 - 03:07 PM

A young Colombian man who is having neighbor problems stated that I can't know what it's like to be dicriminated against for your race. I showed him a picture of a "Help Wanted; Irish Need Not Apply" sign that greeted my grandfather when he arrived here. The story of my grandmother moving her family in the middle of the night to avoid the landlord with no family, no sympathy, and no welfare check to fall back on made an impression.

I told him that he and his fellow Colombians needed to think in terms of political and economic power. And suggested that he or some other likely candidate run for local office with the backing of the Colombian community. A seed planted...

I second "The Great Hunger" but be forewarned it will provoke anger and sorrow at the stupidity, cruelty, and indifference that allowed thousands to starve to death.

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: pattyClink
Date: 29 Jul 01 - 03:17 PM

In non-fiction, check the library for the unfortunately named "Paddy's Lament" by Thomas Gallagher. Very good background on exactly those times.

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: Brían
Date: 29 Jul 01 - 04:17 PM

Great comments, SINSULL, however, the best way to get through the anger is to speak the whole truth about An Gorta Mór(The Great Hunger). I think the contributors to these threads have offered some great informations and resources.

Brían.

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: Jimmy C
Date: 29 Jul 01 - 07:45 PM

"Famine" by Liam Flaherty is a good one. "The voyage of the Naparina" is about leaving on a famine ship from Ireland to Quebec, this one is fiction but draws from a wealth of real stories.

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: Fiolar
Date: 30 Jul 01 - 06:04 AM

There were very few books written at the time of the Famine. Most of the ones available today were written in the late 19th or in the 20th century. Best to avoid the "novels" and go for the non-fiction. Here is a list of some you might care to track down. Irish Famine Facts by John Keating. ISDN 0-901317-46-2 The History of the Irish in America by Ann Kathleen Bradley The Famine in Ireland by Mary E. Daly The Great Calamity by Christine Kenealy The Irish Famine - An Illustrated History by Helen Litton A Farewell to the Famine by Jim Rees The Visition of God? by Austin Bourke This is only a tiny fraction but should give you a picture of the horror. Also check the database for previous links.

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: GUEST,maire
Date: 30 Jul 01 - 07:40 AM

Another suggestion: IRISH HUNGER, edited by Tom Hayden, is another good source for information about the aftermath of the famine on the psyche of the Irish who emigrated to the U. S.

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: TNDARLN
Date: 30 Jul 01 - 08:01 AM

I guess the first novel I read on Irish history was Leon Uris' Trinity. The time frame is much broader than just the famine years, but it gave me a good sense of cause/effect of many Irish events. Trinity was hard for me to read: it was so much like watching a close relative die slowly.... He later wrote a sequel called Redemption. Also, several years ago, making a similar request to yours, an Irish professor/archaeologist recommended to me a trilogy by Walter Macken: Seek the Fair Land, The Silent People [which is the one that deals directly with the famine], and The Scorching Wind. Good stuff.

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: Paddy Plastique
Date: 30 Jul 01 - 12:26 PM

The great Irish prose writer of around the Famine and the decades after is one William Carleton. His masterpiece is the 2 volume 'Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry' - which gives an insight into the Ireland that was virtually wiped out by the famine. Probably not findable on Amazon - you could try any of the Irish booksellers that are on-line (if there are any left ?) I think there's one called Hughes's in Galway - or maybe Easons (assuming they've taken over Fred Hanna's) I think one of his stories is re-printed in 'Representative Irish Tales' by Yeats. He also wrote an autobiography which would describe the period fairly well and was the subject of (The?) Poor Scholar by Benedict Kiely (a literary biography, I think). I'm not at all sure about the quality of his novels - but I think there's one based at the time of the Famine (is it 'Feardorcha the Miser' ?)

PS There's a slight risk I've mixed up the names of bookshops and pubs in my mind - as cited above

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: mooman
Date: 30 Jul 01 - 06:47 PM

Dear Guest Terry,

Do you have any idea what part of Ireland your ancestors arrived from? On my recent three week trip back home, much of which was spent perusing bookshops, I saw quite a number of works covering famine years written by local authors concerning the history of their particular localities.

Best regards,

mooman

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: Paddy Plastique
Date: 31 Jul 01 - 05:01 AM

Sorry, Carleton's novel based in the Famine times is 'The Black Prophet' Can't vouch for its quality or availability....

Subject: RE: Irish novels?
From: ard mhacha
Date: 31 Jul 01 - 06:32 AM

I have an old copy of The Black Prophet by Carleton, an excellent book, very hard to come by. A spate of books on the Potato Famine have been published recently, Amazon would be worth a look. Slan Ard Mhacha.