Abstract: In the Ireland emerging into 2013, some important facts of Irish life are still similar to the preceding years. The severe recession is still there, and in some ways has tightened its grip on the population, but there are green shoots to be seen in the form of slightly increased employment, a deal on the national debt which will save the country some billions of euro, and a manifest improvement in the performance of the United States; as an American friend said to me many years ago: Whatever happens in America will appear in Ireland three-quarters of an hour later! So there is some reason to hope. In this recession, literature and critical writing still flourish, book launches take place almost as often as before, associations continue to hold their annual conferences, and journals make their regular yearly appearances. An example of this was the Dublin Book Festival in November, the fifth in succession, therefore coterminous with the recession, a fact that speaks for itself. I had the great pleasure of attending the annual conference of IASIL (International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures), taking place for the first time in Concordia University, Montreal, another achievement for the burgeoning Irish Studies programme in this University. Edna O'Brien finally brought out her memoir, aptly Country Girl, with Faber and Faber. Of the newer faces on the scene, Kevin Barry brought out his second short-story collection Dark Lies the Island. Of course there have been losses too. Many academics took the option of early retirement just a year ago, leaving departments of Irish Studies often with depleted staff and resources. The death took place of the greatly loved author and doyenne of Irish popular literature, Maeve Binchy, but nonetheless her latest and last book came out this year. Another great loss was that of the late Caroline Walsh, literary editor of the Irish Times, who was commemorated on many occasions, including in two of the books which I am reviewing below. Some other positive upcoming events include what is called The Gathering. Taking its inspiration from a similar Scottish event, members of the Irish diaspora are invited to visit Ireland in 2013, and there are many events and functions planned for this purpose. While some people, notably Irish actor Gabriel Byrne (cultural ambassador for Ireland in the US 2010-2011), are rather cynical about the financial expectations of the organisers, others perceive it to be mutually beneficial to both the Irish at home and to the Irish visitors to the home of their ancestors. Let us look forward to all who choose to come back, let us make them truly welcome, and join with them in commemorating the great events which brought about our nation's independence. This year sees the centenary of the lockout of the workers by the employers in 1913, leading to many recruitments to the British Army in the First World War, and the formation of the Socialist movement that culminated in The Irish Citizen Army, which was to play a significant part in the Easter Rising of 1916. All of these events led to rich literature output which we will also commemorate. The first recent work which I read in 2012 was Maurice O'Callaghan's novel In Their Dreams of Fire. This fiction is set in West Cork, home of the author, who is a lawyer, novelist, and both writer and director of a movie. The chronology of the book is the Irish War of Independence and the subsequent civil war, covering the period 1919 to 1923, the same period which featured in his earlier movie. The novel opens with a detailed description of an Anglo-Irish gentleman walking in a beautiful landscape which is far older than his family's possession of the estate. Sights and sounds of the countryside are lovingly depicted: The trees were very old. Their branches spread outwards and up as if they would embrace and shelter all living things. In the wood there was birdsong, the pop of ladyfingers in the heat, dogs' distant barking across the river, a fringe of ghosts in Jasper's old walled estate and manor house. …
Publication Year: 2013
Publication Date: 2013-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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