Ireland in Mind: An Anthology

Three Centuries of Irish, English, and American Writers in Search of the Real Ireland

From Oscar Wilde to James Joyce, from Virginia Woolf to Frank McCourt: three centuries of Irish, English, and American writers in search of the real Ireland.

From the comic terror of Frank McCourt's First Communion to the raucous pagan festival Muriel Rukeyser attended in County Kerry in the 1930s; from John Betjeman's lyrical evocation of a ruined abbey in the mist to Eric Newby's hilariously disastrous bicycle trip through Ireland; from William Trevor's gentle Irish clergyman encountering the long angry reach of his country's past tragedies to Brian Moore's wistful return from a life spent in exile, this anthology offers a kaleidoscope of this mysterious, elusive country. For travelers of all kinds, for those who have long been fascinated by Ireland and those who are feeling its lure for the first time, Ireland in Mind will provide a rich and rewarding imaginative journey.

Contributors also include: Samuel Beckett, Wallace Stevens, Oliver Goldsmith, Jonathan Swift, Edna O'Brien, Paul Theroux, V.S. Pritchett, Anthony Trollope, George Bernard Shaw, T.H. White, George Moore, Elizabeth Bowen, Maeve Brennan, Brendan Behan, Eamon Grennan, Bernard MacLaverty, H.V. Morton, Naill Williams, Christine Breen, Jan Morris, David A. Wilson, Annabel Davis-Goff, Henrich Böll, William Makepeace Thackery.
Introduction

CONNAUGHT
Heinrich Böll
“Mayo—God Help Us”
“Skeleton of a Human Habitation”

Thomas Flanagan
from The Year of the French

Eric Newby
“To the Aran Islands”

William Makepeace Thackeray
“From Galway to Ballinahinch”

Anthony Trollope
from The Macdermots of Ballycloran

T. H. White
“Letter from a Goose Shooter”

Oscar Wilde
from The Letters of Oscar Wilde 80

MUNSTER
Annabel Davis-Goff
“Glenville”

Frank McCourt
from Angela’s Ashes

George Moore
“Home Sickness”

Edna O’Brien
“My Mother’s Mother”

Muriel Rukeyser
from The Orgy

Wallace Stevens
“The Irish Cliffs of Moher”

Paul Theroux
“Discovering Dingle”

Virginia Woolf
from The Diary of Virginia Woolf


LEINSTER
Samuel Beckett
from Mercier and Camier

John Betjeman
“Ireland with Emily”

Elizabeth Bowen
“Unwelcome Idea”

Maeve Brennan
“The Morning After the Big Fire”

Oliver Goldsmith
from “The Deserted Village”

James Joyce
“A Little Cloud”

Jan Morris
“Do You Think Should He Have Gone Over?”

George Bernard Shaw
“Touring in Ireland”

Jonathan Swift
“An Answer to the Ballyspellin Ballad”

William Trevor
“Autumn Sunshine”

ULSTER
Brendan Behan
“I’m a British Object, Said the Belfast-Man”

Eamon Grennan
“Facts of Life, Ballymoney”

Bernard MacLaverty
“Some Surrender”

Brian Moore
“Going Home”

H.V. Morton
from In Search of Ireland

Niall Williams and Christine Breen
from The Pipes Are Calling

David A.Wilson
“Sweet Carnlough Bay”

About

From Oscar Wilde to James Joyce, from Virginia Woolf to Frank McCourt: three centuries of Irish, English, and American writers in search of the real Ireland.

From the comic terror of Frank McCourt's First Communion to the raucous pagan festival Muriel Rukeyser attended in County Kerry in the 1930s; from John Betjeman's lyrical evocation of a ruined abbey in the mist to Eric Newby's hilariously disastrous bicycle trip through Ireland; from William Trevor's gentle Irish clergyman encountering the long angry reach of his country's past tragedies to Brian Moore's wistful return from a life spent in exile, this anthology offers a kaleidoscope of this mysterious, elusive country. For travelers of all kinds, for those who have long been fascinated by Ireland and those who are feeling its lure for the first time, Ireland in Mind will provide a rich and rewarding imaginative journey.

Contributors also include: Samuel Beckett, Wallace Stevens, Oliver Goldsmith, Jonathan Swift, Edna O'Brien, Paul Theroux, V.S. Pritchett, Anthony Trollope, George Bernard Shaw, T.H. White, George Moore, Elizabeth Bowen, Maeve Brennan, Brendan Behan, Eamon Grennan, Bernard MacLaverty, H.V. Morton, Naill Williams, Christine Breen, Jan Morris, David A. Wilson, Annabel Davis-Goff, Henrich Böll, William Makepeace Thackery.

Table of Contents

Introduction

CONNAUGHT
Heinrich Böll
“Mayo—God Help Us”
“Skeleton of a Human Habitation”

Thomas Flanagan
from The Year of the French

Eric Newby
“To the Aran Islands”

William Makepeace Thackeray
“From Galway to Ballinahinch”

Anthony Trollope
from The Macdermots of Ballycloran

T. H. White
“Letter from a Goose Shooter”

Oscar Wilde
from The Letters of Oscar Wilde 80

MUNSTER
Annabel Davis-Goff
“Glenville”

Frank McCourt
from Angela’s Ashes

George Moore
“Home Sickness”

Edna O’Brien
“My Mother’s Mother”

Muriel Rukeyser
from The Orgy

Wallace Stevens
“The Irish Cliffs of Moher”

Paul Theroux
“Discovering Dingle”

Virginia Woolf
from The Diary of Virginia Woolf


LEINSTER
Samuel Beckett
from Mercier and Camier

John Betjeman
“Ireland with Emily”

Elizabeth Bowen
“Unwelcome Idea”

Maeve Brennan
“The Morning After the Big Fire”

Oliver Goldsmith
from “The Deserted Village”

James Joyce
“A Little Cloud”

Jan Morris
“Do You Think Should He Have Gone Over?”

George Bernard Shaw
“Touring in Ireland”

Jonathan Swift
“An Answer to the Ballyspellin Ballad”

William Trevor
“Autumn Sunshine”

ULSTER
Brendan Behan
“I’m a British Object, Said the Belfast-Man”

Eamon Grennan
“Facts of Life, Ballymoney”

Bernard MacLaverty
“Some Surrender”

Brian Moore
“Going Home”

H.V. Morton
from In Search of Ireland

Niall Williams and Christine Breen
from The Pipes Are Calling

David A.Wilson
“Sweet Carnlough Bay”