A magic story
The Hunt for Diarmaid and Gráinne
by Liam MacUistin
Published by O'Brien Press
Price £3.99
``The Hunt for Diarmaid and Gráinne'' is full of magic and
inventiveness. It is a tale packed with heroes and heroines who
have superhuman gifts and all too human failings.
Princess Gráinne, sick of the many young men who come to woo her,
agrees to marry the great hero Fionn MacCumhaill. It is only when
she meets him at their wedding feast that her dreams of the
handsome hero fade into the cold reality that he is an old man.
Fortunately Diarmaid's `ball seirce' or magic mole saves the day.
This makes Gráinne fall in love with him and gives her the
get-out clause to dump Fionn. A pinch of her turquoise magical
powder puts all in a deep sleep save herself and Diarmaid. And
with a `geas' or spell on her new lover to do her bidding,
they're off on a wild adventure followed by Fionn and the Fianna
hellbent on catching up and killing them.
What follows are feats of bravery and magic as the lovers flee
their pursuers. It ends, you think with relief, with an uneasy
truce but there's one final twist of fate where Fionn Mac
Cumhaill shows that even superheroes have a darker side to their
nature.
This is a fine retelling of the Celtic legend that both kids and
adults will enjoy. It has a scholarly prologue to it that
enhances the reading of the tale itself. Gaelic words are
spinkled throughout, rooting it to the original and reminding us
of our rich cultural heritage. This tale make you want to read
more Celtic legends.
Kids of 12 upward would enjoy it but equally younger kids would
love it as a bed-time tale read to them by an adult. And as it's
the summer hols another spin-off would be a trip to The Hill of
Tara to see all the places named in the tale.
By Gráinne Campbell
Part of what we are
Lesbian and Gay Visions of Ireland
Eds: Ide O'Carroll and Eoin Collins.
Published by Cassell.
£14.99
Lesbian and Gay Visions of Ireland is an absoloute powerhouse of
a book. With over 20 contributions by lesbians and gay men from
across Ireland and the diaspora, this must be the most
comprehensive and action packed volume of Queer writings
published for some time.
Divided into five sections, Visions covers a breathtaking range
of subjects from writers with an equally diverse range of
backgrounds. Despite the diversity, the binding thread which
holds the various contributions together is the sense of personal
involvement that is invested in all of the narratives. Each essay
not only speaks of a particular aspect of lesbian and gay
exprience but offers a personalised acount of the many facets of
those experiences.
For republicans, the high points of the book must be the essays
by Brendi McClenaghan, Marie Mulholand and Kieran Rose. Each of
these three contributions outline the many inter-realtionships
between the marginalisation of nationalists and Queers, as well
as outlining the need for an integrated political resistance to
overcome oppression and create real democracy.
Of additional interest are William O'Connor's essay on AIDS in
Ireland, Anne Maguire and Cherry Smyth's essays on emigrant life
in the US and London, and the poetry of Cathal O'Searcaigh.
Of course selecting these essays for individual comment does an
injustice both to those contributions not mentioned as well as
the collection as a whole. If you want my advice, just go out and
get the book, read it from cover to cover without interruption
and choose your own favourite bits. A book for all the family,
whether that family be straight or Queer.
By Eoin O'Broin
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)
