February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
THE BELLES OF NEW ENGLAND
William Moran
Moran, a native of Portland, Maine, worked alongside such greats of CBS news as Walter Cronkite and Charles Kuralt, journalists whose names and faces were instantly recognizable to millions. In his book, subtitled “The Women Of The Textile Mills And The Families Whose Wealth They Wove,” Moran introduces us to people who would live, work and die in near total anonymity and yet, by their work and struggle for dignity, would create a better world for those who came after them. Moran devotes an entire section of his book to the Irish laborers who built the mills and the Irish women who worked in them. Thomas Dunne Books, a division of St. Martin’s Press. 292 pp. $25.95.
130 GREAT IRISH BALLADS
Robert Gogan
How many times do we know the tune but not the words? How many times do we know the first few lyrics but end up humming for the rest of the song? Well, with this book everyone can become an Irish balladeer and master both music and lyrics to such classics as “The Croppy Boy” and “The Galway Races.” The book even comes with a CD that gets the non-musically trained singer going with first verses and choruses and also, most important, the melody. Dublin-based Gogan has clearly done his research. The story behind every ballad is included in the book that will enable the reader, at the very least, to be well equipped with musical party pieces. Irish Books & Media, Minneapolis (1 [800] 229-3505), 140 pp. Euro 13.
IRISH MOSAICS
THE BEST OF IRISH FILM MUSIC AND SPORT
This compilation DVD from the Quintamar production studio begins with an introduction by actor Milo O’Shea and brings the viewer on a tour through Ireland in a number of contexts, including traditional music, sport and pop music videos. Actors Pierce Brosnan and Gabriel Byrne also talk about the land of their birth and the DVD additionally includes five short films, including Academy Award nominee “Dance Lexie Dance.” 180 minutes in length. Details, www.irishmosaics.com or www.quintamar.com.
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DEATH OF RILEY
Rhys Bowen
The latest take-it-to-bed installment in the Molly Murphy Mystery series has Molly crossing the Atlantic from Ireland and arriving in New York at the dawn of the 20th century. Molly soon finds herself in the depths of a mystery set against the backdrop of the literary and artistic community of 1901 Greenwich Village. Author Bowen won an Agatha Award for her first Molly Murphy tale and was also short-listed for a Mary Higgins Clark Award. St. Martin’s Minotaur. 275 pp. $24.95.
I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN THEE
William P. Sexton
A tale of wartime romance in which a young Irishman from Connemara, Martin Connolly, finds himself on the winning side in the Spanish Civil War and the losing side in World War II fighting as German paratrooper. Wounded in Spain, Connolly is nursed back to health by a “beautiful and fiery” Spanish nurse. After the war, Connolly returns to Ireland with the intention of becoming a priest. But he cannot forget the woman in Spain with whom he had fallen deeply in love. O S