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Title: Paddy's Lament, Ireland 1846-1847: Prelude to Hatred by Thomas Gallagher ISBN: 0-15-670700-4 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 1987 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.69 (13 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Our Ancestors Lived Through This Horror?
Comment: "Paddy's Lament" tells the story of those who lived through and died in the Irish Potato Famine of 1846-1847. Throughout the book I kept wondering if my ancestors lived through the horrors described.
The economic setting of Ireland is laid out as that of an island of tenant farmers and large, often absentee, landlords. Agriculture produced wheat and beef for export to England. A small proportion of the land was planted in potatoes, the only food which could feed the population on such small acreage. With the advent of the textile industry in England, wool became a more profitable crop than the traditional ones, if only the native population could be done away with.
A fungus led to the destruction of the potato crop in 1846. Relief was available through the prohibition of the exportation of grain, a step which had previously been taken in other famine stricken countries. The control of Ireland's destiny was within the control of the British Lords who regarded the Irish as a subhuman species of which they would prefer to be rid. The aid extended by foreign nations, particularly the U.S., was a sharp indictment of British indifference. The Famine would not have occurred in a country in control of its own fate.
The famine cause tenants to fall behind in their rents. Massive evictions and destruction of homes followed. Many Irish were forced from their home villages to travel across the land. Is this why Mary McKeever's two brothers were born in the East, but she was born in the West?
Relief came in bits and spurts. The British Lords commissioned the chef of the Reform Club, their gathering place, to create an economical recipe for Irish soup kitchens. Emphasizing economy, he created a soup which was easy on the British exchequer, but provided little nutrition to the Irish. Did William Casey eat this greasy water?
The famine led to widespread starvation. The vivid description of the appearance of the victims is grotesque. Did Matthew Gallen's parents die this death?
Privation forced the Irish to abandon their homes in search of a new life beyond the hated British Empire. The practice of the American wake, in which the family mourned the loss of the son or daughter who was to leave forever was a heart rending affair for all involved. Many sought to avoid the wake by running away. Is this why Thomas English and his brother ran away from home?
The reader accompanies a group of immigrants on a voyage in the stinking, rocking, wretched steerage section of a British ship. The inferiority of the British ships as opposed to American is explained. The sailor's grim prediction that there would be more room the further out they got became hauntingly true. Again the details are presented in such detail as to turn the stomach of the readers even after all of these years. Is this the type of voyage on which Johanna Lynch chose a crewman for her husband?
A new life started for the survivors upon arrival in New York. The contrast between the lethargy of the Irish in Ireland and their industry in America spoke eloquently of the altered prospects for reward for their labors. Although many stayed in New York, others moved out to rural environments more reminiscent of Ireland. Is this how Patrick Nealon got to Bath, Maine?
The British realized that, as they ridded Ireland of its excess population, they were creating an America which was becoming Irish and anti-British. The failure of the potato crop was an act of God. The famine was an Act of Parliament. This perception turned the Irish dissatisfaction with the British into an intense hatred.
This book helps us understand our past and what made us they way we are.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Definitive book on The Irish
Comment: Of all the books I've read by or about the Irish, this is by far the best. In trying to trace my heritage I have read everything from The Tain and books on Irish myth and legend, to bios on the likes of DeValera and Collins, to contemporary fiction by the likes of Emer Martin, Colum McCann and Patrick McCabe. But this book, by Thomas Gallagher, has been the only book that so vividly reveals what exactly happened in Ireland, why, and what it was like. Much like one of the previous reviewers, I had to put the book down several times, as I was so overcome by what I can only describe as grief. I would recommend also (as a companion to Paddy's Lament) the book "Mother Ireland" by Edna O'Brien, which is essentially an essay (or series of essays) of what Ireland was like for her. Very powerful. But be warned: While both books are eminently readable, neither is "easy" reading ... both of these books are filled with sorrow, shame, and much suffering. However, you will never see The Irish in quite the same way, and develop a renewed sense of Ireland's ultimate resourcefulness and courage.
Rating: 5
Summary: An Old Friend Whose Work Deserves a Resurgence
Comment: Thomas Gallagher was an old family friend, so in some respects my review of his works may be slightly biased. In fact, in the years before he died, he was a mentor to me in my own writing. Unfortunately, he passed on before he could see that I dedicated my first novel to him.
In terms of his books, PADDY'S LAMENT and ASSAULT IN NORWAY are among his best. Mr. Gallagher always had a talent for taking an obscure event in history and showing its importance in such a way that the final product reads like a novel. I first read both of the above works in 1990, while still in college, and I remember marvelling at how crisp every one of his sentences was. He achieved elegance through hard work, and both of these works are testament to it.
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Title: The Famine Ships: The Irish Exodus to America by Edward Laxton ISBN: 0805058443 Publisher: Owl Books (NY) Pub. Date: 01 February, 1998 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Great Hunger: Ireland, 1845-1849 by Cecil Blanche Fitz Gerald Woodham Smith, Cecil Woodham-Smith ISBN: 014014515X Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 1995 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Great Shame: And the Triumph of the Irish in the English-Speaking World by Thomas Keneally ISBN: 0385720262 Publisher: Anchor Books/Doubleday Pub. Date: 05 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: Journey of Hope: The Story of Irish Immigration to America by Kerby A. Miller, Patricia Mulholland Miller, Kerby Miller ISBN: 0811827836 Publisher: Chronicle Books Pub. Date: 01 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850 by Susan Campbell Bartoletti ISBN: 0618002715 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Pub. Date: 29 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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