Mapping our past and present
Atlas of Irish History
Edited by Seán Duffy
Published by Gill & Macmillan
Price £9.99 (£12.99 hb)
By Aengus O Snodaigh
Every picture tells a story, goes the saying and as a
believer in that little gem of truth I was heartened by
the new glossy Atlas of Irish History edited by Seán
Duffy of Trinity College Dublin. He is definitely not
in the Roy Foster mould.
The style of writing by the various contributors, the
layout and the use of colour maps, tables and graphs,
photographs and sketches to illustrate the various
chapters (each about 500 words long) of Irish history
make this a lot more accessible than Ruth Dudley
Edwards' book of the same title.
With 49 chapters this is no lightweight book. The
chapters, usually only two pages long, include: nine on
Ireland before the English invasion; seven on the
invasion and the Late Middle Ages; eight on the
Reformation to Restoration; ten from the Penal Laws to
the Famine; and sixteen on topics since then to the
present day. A four-page chronology is provided and a
two-page further reading list.
While this is no republican interpretation of Irish
history, it is not bad. Where it is deficient is in the
chapters dealing with modern history after 1950.
The authors (Maynooth, UCC, St Pat's Drumcondra and
Bristol University lecturers) should be congratulated
for succeeding in such few words, with the aid of the
wonderful maps, to narrate to the reader the
intricacies of our history without complicating it
further.
A worthwhile buy for a visitor or a beginner.
Hearing new voices
Outside The Walls
Poems by Francis O'Hare and Frank Sewell
Introduction by Carol Rumens
Published by An Clochan, Belfast
Price £4
Belfast's newest publishing house, An Clochan, has
provided an outlet for a joint anthology from up and
coming poets Frank Sewell and Francis O'Hare.
This first collection from the two, Belfast born Sewell
and Newry born O'Hare, is full of clear and fresh
imagery reflecting their urban and rural perspectives
and backgrounds.
O'Hare's poetry is rich in language and thick, weaving
rhyme. Often celebratory: the love affair, his heritage
and his ``Da'', the heroes of man - both large and small,
are cherished. The warmth and charm of people, places,
time and all things of nature and people's nature are
his tools as he takes us through the fields, homes and
people of his youth. In `Cure' he wields his prose
around a family encounter with ``the realm of Niamh and
Laban and Fand.'' While in `My father's sins' and `A
dying breed' he talks with a gentle voice, of time and
men, falling, at peace and still. In `Figure in
Tapestry', `The grocery shop' and `Alone', O'Hare
echoes the solitude that can inflict and enwrap us all.
Sewell's poetry is brighter, almost lighter in its
lyricism. In `One thing you can be sure of' he uses the
word ``nothing'' as a jumping off point, to challenge our
assumptions of normal word use.
Nothing never changes.
Nothing stays the same.
Nothing's what it's cracked up to be.
Nothing cut and dry.
His sense of syntax, coming from his Gaelic, shines
through the English and Sewell's deft eye, sharply
political at times are a real treasure. All in all An
Clochan must be congratulated for providing the
opportunity for these two newcomers to take the stage
of Irish poetry.
By Ned Kelly
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