Bridge Street Books

Wicklow

The Missing Postman:  What Really Happened to Larry Griffen - Fatchna O'Drisceoil:  Christmas Day 1929 turned out to be the last ever working day of Stradbally postman Larry Griffin. He never returned home and the only trace of him that could be found was an abandoned bicycle on a country road. The story of the Missing Postman as it became known, made the headlines nationally and overseas, when ten prominent local people were arrested and charged with his murder.  The defendants included such pillars of the community as two local Civic Guards, the school teacher, the local publican, his wife and two of their children. For eighty years the doors of Stradbally and the Garda files on the case remained firmly shut against anyone trying to investigate the story. Numerous successful libel actions taken by the former defendants, further discouraged media interest.  However all those involved have passed on. Government files, which cast new light on the case, have recently become available, and in this extraordinary new book, A" Drisceoil weaves the pieces of the puzzle togther, using new evidence which paints a sordid portrait of lies, half-truths, conspiracy, intimidation and Garda brutality

Out on Bail:  The Crimes of Ireland's Bail Breakers - Emer Connolly:  Thousands of crimes are committed by people out on bail every year in Ireland. There are dozens of breaches of bail every month. While the vast majority of offences committed are minor, many are very serious.  Invariably, such victims feel a sense of impotent anger. Some believe that the bail laws need to be overhauled; other victims blame the judicial system, while others feel that their grievances are ignored. Out on Bail gives a voice to families who speak of the pain and suffering they have experienced, while Gardai involved in investigating such crimes express their frustrations at the system.  Every case is different and has unique circumstances. The general consensus is that if a defendant has a clean record, he or she is entitled to be treated fairly. However, if there is any evidence to suggest that he or she may break bail, then the issue of refusing bail must be seriously considered

Next Generation Ireland - edited by Ed Burke & Ronan Lyons:  Ireland in the early 2010s stands at a crossroads. The ongoing change and crisis in institutions that once had our trust force us to ask, ‘What now?’  Next Generation Ireland brings together ten young Irish men and women to answer this very question. All are under forty and are emerging experts in their chosen fields. They have come together because they believe that, in this time of questioning, there exists a huge opportunity for the next generation to build the Ireland of the 2020s and 2030s.
The book tackles the essential challenges confronting Irish politics and society, the economy, the environment, and Ireland’s relationship with the rest of the world. Each writer proposes transformative policies in their respective areas that will renew and sustain the Irish state in the coming decades.
Urging reform and policy transformation, Next Generation Ireland marks the beginning of an interesting conversation. Do you wish to participate?
 

Our suggestions for top Irish books:

The Story of Ireland - In search of a new national memory Neil Hegarty:  The history of Ireland has traditionally focused on the localized struggles of religious conflict, territoriality & the early fight for Home Rule.  But from the early Catholic missions into Europe to the embrace of the euro, the real story of Ireland has played out on the larger international stage.  This book presents this new take on Irish history, challenging the narrative that has been told for generations & drawing fresh conclusions about the way the Irish have lived.  Revisiting the major turning points in Irish history, Hegarty re-examines the accepted stories, challenging the long-held myths & looking not only at the dynamics of what happened in Ireland, but also at the role of events abroad.  How did Europe's 16th century religious wars inform the incredible violence inflicted on the Irish by the Elizabethans?  What was the impact of the French & American revolutions on the Irish national movement?  What were the consequences of Ireland's policy of neutrality during the Second World War?  The Story of Ireland sets out to answer these questions & more, rejecting the introspection that has often characterized Irish History - this is an epic account of Ireland's history for an entire new generation.

Catherine & Friends (Inside the Investigation of Ireland’s Most Notorious Crime) Pat Flynn -

In the days before murders became a daily occurrence in Ireland, the allegations of contract killers, extra-marital affairs, fraud and involvement with Republican organisations seemed better suited to the big screen than a small town pub.  Pat Flynn led the investigation against Catherine, a woman whom he had encountered several times before these events unfolded. He had previously witnessed her fabricate accusations of sexual abuse against his garda colleagues while she continued to enthral his superior officers and Judge O’Buachalla.  He describes how holes in her version of the events on the night of the murder were found, along with evidence of how she had been plotting for years to have her husband killed. Flynn also reported Judge O’Buachalla for granting Catherine the license for the pub in her sole name through irregular channels, after she had been charged with murder and rumours of an affair between them had become rife.

Stopping by Woods:  A guide to the forests & woodlands of Ireland  Donal Magner - this book provides comprehensive guide to over 340 forests & woodlands open to the public throughout Ireland.  Donal Magner writes with a rare insight about forests he has worked in & visited over the years as a forester & journalist.  It is packed with information not only about forest & tree species, but their associated flora & fauna, history & heritage.  Stopping by Woods is a celebration & record of this remarkable civic amenity.

Talk to the Headscarf  Emma Hannigan - Imagine you're 32, married with 2 small children & you find out you are carrying a deadly cancer gene?  That was Emma in August 2005, when she discovered she had the BRCA1 glebe which meant she had an 85% chance of developing cancer.  She had radical surgery over the following year - a double mastectomy & both ovaries removed - which reduced her cancer risk to 5%.  Cancer struck anyway.  This is her story of battling and slaying cancer 6 times.

'40 Great Tennis Session' Peter Farrell - provides exactly what the name suggests:  sets of logical & progressive exercises on the major tennis skills.  They are laid out so that the book can be taken on court, and each drill easily implemented step by step to ensure rapid improvement.

'The Lamp & the Lullaby'  Bill Long - Ireland's longest-surviving recipient of a heart transplant, Bill Long has been, at various times: in the British Navy, a journalist, a cyclist, a public relations officer, a ‘serious’ writer, a broadcaster and documentary-maker. He has made over 200 contributions to RTÉ’s Sunday Miscellany programme.  The Lamp and the Lullaby is Bill Long’s memoir of growing up in County Waterford during the 1930s and 1940s.

Callsign Hades Patrick Bury - In summer 2006 Helmand Province erupted into violence as NATO forces struggled to crush Taliban strongholds. For six weeks the Royal Irish Regiment and the Paras defended Sangin in the face of ever-mounting attacks. At this point young officer Patrick Bury was learning the trade of the infantry in the Brecon Beacons.
Paddy had always wanted to be a soldier - a desire fraught with the contradictions of a complex history overridden by a 'warrior calling'. When he arrived in Afghanistan with 1st Royal Irish, he was surrounded by men oozing bloody combat experience. This was not Sandhurst.
It was extreme violence and killing. Hades Four One was his callsign and the infantry mantra rang in his ears: 'To close and kill the enemy, in all weather conditions, in all terrain, by day or night.' Over six months, Paddy and his company dealt with over a hundred IEDs, of which 60 exploded on them, killing his comrades in the most vicious of ways and fuelling a sense of ever-growing dissatisfaction in the young captain. This powerful and thoughful first-hand account about the 'eternal truths of military life' places the reader in Paddy's boots, sharing every thought, ache, smell and taste of life on the frontline in Afghanistan.
He describes modern warfare in a way that creates an understanding of the myriad complexities soldiers are faced with, the conditions in which they operate and the moral and emotional challenges they endure.

'Vet Among the Pigeons' Gillian Hick - This is Gillian's second book about her adventures as a vet in Wicklow & with the Blue Cross inner city welfare clinic.  Read about her hilarious exploits as she encounters everything from dairy cattle to turkey cocks; from 6 foot snakes to snuffling hedgehogs, hefty bulls to tiny kittens.

Catherine's Italian Kitchen Catherine Fulvio - On the back of her success with her RTE cookery show 'Catherine's Italian Kitchen' and now 'Catherine's Roman Holiday', this book is Catherine's personal collection of recipes to brighten up Irish kitchens with the delicious flavours of Italy.  This wonderful selection of vibrant recipes (beautifully photographed and presented throughout), influenced by Catherine's long summers spent at her home in Sicily, have been gathered from Italian friends and her husband's family in Sicily & Rome, and perfected at her Wicklow Cookery School.

A Pint & a Haircut - compiled by Garret Pearse - A collection of true Irish stories, from all over Ireland, donated to raise funds for CONCERN's relief work in Haiti.  All Irish life is here - from sport, misfortunes of various kinds to heartbreak, love and diamond rings.  A Pint and a Haircut contains stories that will entertain, amuse, arouse our curiosity, & best of all, convince us that the Irish talent for writing & storytelling, combined in this volume, is as strong as ever.For more info, check out Garret's blog on www.trueirishstories.com

New books about Byrnes & O'Byrnes

The Clan O'Byrne of Leinster - AD 400-1700 :  A compilation of available historical information

Paul J Burns

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The Byrnes & the O'Byrnes  - Volume 1:  A new insight upon Irish history

Daniel Byrne-Rothwell

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The Byrnes & O'Byrnes - Volume 2:  A social history of the clan

Daniel Byrne-Rothwell

'Keys to the Cage: How people cope with depression'

Sue Leonard

The book comprises 14 interviews with men and women, of all ages, from all around Ireland, who have been through depression, anxiety and related illnesses. Through their sometimes heartrending stories, it concentrates on the tools they used to help them recover. The book includes an appendix with a list of all the therapies, support groups and books that helped them. This important book will go some way to breaking the silence and stigma surrounding issues of mental health, and discusses how real people manage to cope with their illnesses on a day-to-day basis.

€12.99

Fred Drew

With the Round Ireland Yacht race currently under way, this is a collection of articles and stories (some previously published, some not) about the Round Ireland Yacht Race which is held every two years and begins and ends in Wicklow.  The race is organised and run by the Wicklow Sailing Club in association with the Royal Ocean Racing Club, the governing body for offshore racing.  Recognised as one of the most challenging events in the international offshore sailing world it has attracted some of the world’s greatest sailors and some of the most beautiful and iconic yachts.  But the backbone of the race is provided by the “ordinary” Club sailor, some of whom have competed in the race ten or more times and the experience of some of these in the 1994 race form the heart of this book.

€20

Michael Carey

Wicklow is the most forested county in Ireland, supporting a sustainable forest industry employing over 1,000 people. Its woodland history and culture go back many centuries and are deeply embedded in rural areas throughout the county. Michael Carey explores the evidence of former woodland cover and the various tree planting initiatives carried out in the county between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries. The uses made of timber and the profitability of the industry during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are also discussed and include a review of documentary material related to the old Watson-Wentworth-Fitzwilliam estate based at Coolattin near Shillelagh in the south of the county. The progression of the industry over the period is referenced to the overall social and political evolution of the county and related issues.

Signed copies available

€25

A compendium of photos from matches throughout 2009, from all clubs in Wicklow, to commemorate 125 of GAA.  A great momento.

€30

Henry Cairns & Own Gallagher

€18

Jim Rees

Born in a dockside tavern in Wicklow Town, Halpin began his seafaring career at the age of 11.  Unafraid of danger, particularly when potential profit outweighed the risks involved, he ran supplies to the confederate ports in the American Civil War.  His greatest days at sea were as commander of the largest ship on earth, the ss Great Eastern.  He laid 26,000 miles of cable, linking 4 continents with telegraphic communication, making himself a fortune in the process.  This book is based mainly on Halpin's private papers.

€14.95

Jim Rees

In 1850, an aging priest named Fr Thomas Hore led a group of over 1000 people from their homes in counties Wicklow & Wexford to start new lives in the American mid-west.  This was no blind flight from famine, but a concerted attempt organised by the Bishop of Little Rock to establish an Irish Catholic colony in Arkansas.  A series of setbacks broke the cohesion of the group, which splintered into 6, settling in places as diverse as New Orleans, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, and Iowa.  A Farewell to Famine follows the groups progress from their departure from Ireland to their brief stay in Liverpool & the Atlantic voyage.  More importantly, it shows the other side of the famine emigration experience-what happened to individual families, as well as the group as a whole when they reached America.

€14.99

Billy Byrne was 1 of the most romantic figures of the 1798 rebellion.  His monument in front of the courthouse in which he was tried in Wicklow symbolises the noble figure of folklore.  But just what was his role in the rebellion?  Shortly after his trial in 1799 an edited version of the transcript was published in Dublin.  Now, the for first time in almost 200 years, that transcript is re-issued to give a wider readership an opportunity to judge for themselves Byrne's role in the rebellion.

€9.95

Ruan O'Donnell

The events which took place between 1798 & 1803, when Irish rebels attempted to seize power from the colonial government, has left a lasting mark on the people & landscape of County Wicklow.  The rugged mountains formed a place of refuge for the United Irishmen, from where they could organise raids on the lowlands that surrounded them.  Reel leaders such as Billy Byrne, Joseph Holt & Michael Dwyer became heroes during this time.  This book brings the Wicklow landscape of 1798-1803 to life.  With 24 sites of interest listed, both in the towns & the mountains & easy to follow maps, you can plan a route around the county to suit you.

€10

Tom & Seamus Burnell

A comprehensive list of those from County Wicklow who died during the First and Second World Wars

The Wexford War Dead

Tom Burnell & Margaret Gilbert

€20

150 years ago, Elizabeth Smith, the Scottish born wife of a west Wicklow landlord, was keeping a daily record of household, local, national and even international events, written primarily for her children as they grew up.  The views expressed are therefore totally frank & uninhibited.  This volume represents an extract from her journal written at Baltiboys House, near Blessington and so covers both the pre-famine years and the famine itself.  This book is not primarily about the famine, but rather contemporary account of everyday life in mid-19th Century Ireland

€20

Canon Robert Jennings

€5

€10

Ken Hannigan & William Nolan

The definitive history of Co Wicklow

€60

2000 Years of History, Legend, & Local Stories

Richard Marsh

'The Naming of Baltinglass', 'Saint Kevin & Glendalough' , 'Michael Dwyer, the last 1798 freedom fighter' and many more tales of history, myth, legend & folklore & true local stories of hidden treasure, strokes, revenge, mystery, ghosts, saints & sinners......

€10

€50

€12