February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
PLAYING THE FIELD:
IRISH WRITERS ON SPORT
Edited by George O’Brien
If you’ve ever listed a stick, booted a ball or roared for the favorite team, you’re bound to get a kick out of this book written by a team of Irish novelists, poets and other literary types. It’s a book that’s as much about human psychology as about sport, but, of course, the two are intricately intertwined. The contributors to this book include Anthony Cronin, Joseph O’Connor, Ulick O’Connor, Anthony Glavin and Colum McCann. From Dufour Editions, Chester Springs, Pa.; ([610] 458-5005). 160pp. $16.95.
SAFFRON & BLUE
Manus McGuire
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Born in Tullamore, Co. Offaly, raised in Sligo and living since 1985 in East Clare, Manus McGuire is an Irish fiddle player who combines deft technique with diverse taste. In 1970, he won the prestigious Fiddler of Dooney competition in Sligo — when he was just 14. This CD, "Saffron & Blue," named for the colors of Clare, is his solo debut. Nine of the tunes on this album are McManus’s own: waltzes, hornpipes, jigs and reels inspired by people and places he has known. From Green Linnet, Danbury, Conn. Details, (203) 730-0333.
SPOTLIGHT
Carole Bellacera
From the author of "Border Crossings," this book portrays the haunting effects of the violence of Northern Ireland on its people. On Jan. 6, 1972, 10-year-old Devin O’Keefe takes part in a peaceful demonstration march through the Bogside in Derry, never suspecting that the demonstration is doomed to become Bloody Sunday, which will claim, among its victims O’Keefe’s own brother. To escape a cycle of violence that leaves him with a shattered family and an empty heart, Devin becomes a rock ‘n’ roller and his American tour photo-journalist for Spotlight magazine, Fonda Blayne, finds herself drawn to him. But she has no idea that his brooding silences may be rooted in very real danger. From Forge (www.tor.com). 352 pp. $25.95.
IN MY PRIME
Niamh Parsons
Since the release last year of her album "Blackbirds and Thrushes," tradition singer Niamh Parsons has had a whirlwind 18 months, appearing before President Clinton in Washington last St. Patrick’s Day, joining Grammy Award winner Paul Winter in his annual Summer Solstice Concert in New York, and performing on Garrison Keillor’s "A Prairie Home Companion" when the show broadcast from Dublin last March. This 12-song album was recorded in Dublin in late 1999, and it proves that Parsons is one of Ireland’s most profound interpreters and sensitive practitioners of traditional song. From Green Linnet, Danbury, Conn. Details, (203) 730-0333.