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An Irish Country Doctor from bestselling author Patick Taylor is a charming and engrossing tale that will captivate readers from the very first pageâ??and leave them yearning to visit the Irish countryside of days gone by. Barry Laverty, M.B., can barely find the village of Ballybucklebo on a map when he first sets out to seek gainful employment there, but already he knows that there is nowhere he would rather live than in the emerald hills and dales of Northern Ireland. The proud owner of a spanking-new medical degree and little else in the way of worldly possessions, Barry jumps at the chance to secure a position as an assistant in a small rural practice. At least until he meets Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly. The older physician, whose motto is to never let the patients get the upper hand, has his own way of doing things. At first, Barry can't decide if the pugnacious O'Reilly is the biggest charlatan he has ever met, or the best teacher he could ever hope for. Through O'Reilly Barry soon gets to know all of the village's colorful and endearing residents, including: A malingering Major and his equally hypochondriacal wife; An unwed servant girl, who refuses to divulge the father of her upcoming baby; A slightly daft old couple unable to marry for lack of a roof; And a host of other eccentric characters who make every day an education for the inexperienced young doctor. Ballybucklebo is long way from Belfast, and Barry is quick to discover that he still has a lot to learn about the quirks and traditions of country life. But with pluck and compassion and only the slightest touch of blarney, he will find out more about lifeâ??and loveâ??than he ever imagined back in medical sch… (more)
Sweet and humorous story about a young doctor (Dr. Barry Laverty) who apprentices in a small Northern Irish country village — and the cast of stock characters who live therein. This fine bit of storytelling is no literary masterpiece, more like literary comfort food. It offered a perfect bit of escape from reading about heavier subjects, which was exactly what I needed on a stormy, wintry weekend. There are even several “local” recipes thrown in for good measure by the resident doctor’s (Dr. Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly) housekeeper, Mrs. Kincaid. ( )
Barry Laverty--Doctor Barry Laverty--his houseman's year just finished, ink barely dry on his degree, pulled his beat-up Volkswagen Beetle to the side of the road and peered at a map lying on the passenger seat.
An Irish Country Doctor from bestselling author Patick Taylor is a charming and engrossing tale that will captivate readers from the very first pageâ??and leave them yearning to visit the Irish countryside of days gone by. Barry Laverty, M.B., can barely find the village of Ballybucklebo on a map when he first sets out to seek gainful employment there, but already he knows that there is nowhere he would rather live than in the emerald hills and dales of Northern Ireland. The proud owner of a spanking-new medical degree and little else in the way of worldly possessions, Barry jumps at the chance to secure a position as an assistant in a small rural practice. At least until he meets Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly. The older physician, whose motto is to never let the patients get the upper hand, has his own way of doing things. At first, Barry can't decide if the pugnacious O'Reilly is the biggest charlatan he has ever met, or the best teacher he could ever hope for. Through O'Reilly Barry soon gets to know all of the village's colorful and endearing residents, including: A malingering Major and his equally hypochondriacal wife; An unwed servant girl, who refuses to divulge the father of her upcoming baby; A slightly daft old couple unable to marry for lack of a roof; And a host of other eccentric characters who make every day an education for the inexperienced young doctor. Ballybucklebo is long way from Belfast, and Barry is quick to discover that he still has a lot to learn about the quirks and traditions of country life. But with pluck and compassion and only the slightest touch of blarney, he will find out more about lifeâ??and loveâ??than he ever imagined back in medical sch