Breandán Ó hEithir (1930–1990)

This is a very opinionated sarcastic and acerbic book on Irish political figures and disparate political events from 1922 up to 1989. As the author died in 1990 it would have been interesting to know what he would have made of the events of the past two decades since the publication of his book and his opinion of the political protagonists. Every party is treated the same in this book and analysed in an equally dismissive fashion.

Breandán Ó hÉithir’s novel Lig Sinn i gCathú (Lead Us into Temptation), first published in 1976, is the only Irish-language book to top Ireland’s bestseller list.

The story is set in the university town of Baile an Chaisil, a thinly disguised Galway City, in 1948, the year Ireland declared itself a republic and withdrew from the Commonwealth. But Máirtín Ó Mealóid, a pub-crawling university student, and his disreputable friends are too busy drinking and lusting after girls to pay show more much attention to this significant political development.

But on this fateful weekend, Máirtín can no longer put off vital decisions about his family, his women or his studies. show less

This is a collection of writings about the Aran Islands with pieces ranging from Giraldus Cambrensis to Tim Robinson, with things as varied as delving into the rocks and delving into witchcraft. A place to start if you want to find out more about the people and the islands from original sources. There has been some editing for lenght but overall it's interesting.

I did a few posts on it in my knitting blog
http://wyvernfriendknits.blogspot.ie/2012/08/aran-reader-some-notes-as-i-read.ht...
and
show more target="_top">http://wyvernfriendknits.blogspot.ie/2012/08/aran-reader-clothing-etc-quotes.htm... show less