O Come Ye Back to Ireland: Our First Year In County Claire

Synopsis

Two years ago Niall Williams and his wife, Christine Breen, abandoned their urban careers and paychecks and their many comforts to return to the rugged, rural life of their ancestral Ireland. They emigrated back to the land of their forefathers. Answering a sentimental longing to reconnect to the place of their origin, they booked one-way tickets, pooled and budgeted savings, and bundled up their worldly possessions. Niall would write, Christine would paint, and they would soon grow produce and maintain live-stock. The town they settled near was the village of Kilmihil, 12 miles from the sea, on Ireland's western coast. The place is damp, gray and utterly beautiful. The house, her great grandfather's cottage is heated only by turf which Niall must learn to cut from the nearby bogs and burn in the open fireplace. There is no telephone, no chain saw. There are no restaurants, cinemas, subways, cities or sounds other than the wind, the rain and the jackdaws. Christine sets upon the overgrown garden, salvaging the flowers from among the weeds. The garden, she realizes, was first put in by her great grandfather 200 years earlier. Though the skies rain for an entire summer, she manages to paint and even teach aerobics to the local ladies, as she also strives to earn the welcome she finally receives as Jack O'the Grove's granddaughter.Niall learns to kill a chicken, rids the house of a hoard of bees, finds the burial grounds of a mythical giant and ultimately takes a course to learn to be a farmer. Together Niall and Christine brought the farmland of Kiltumper back to life and together they have written this journal, delightfully illustrated with Christine's art. Niall and Christine first met at University College in Dublin, the city where Niall was born and raised. Christine was born in New Jersey and raised in New York. She graduated from Boston College. They have stories and poems published in Ireland in the past 2 years. Before that Christine worked in New York City at a medical journal and Niall was a copywriter at a mass market publishing house, where he also penned a romance newsletter under the name of "Sarah Reynolds."

Copyright:

1987

Book Details

Book Quality:

Excellent

Book Size:

233 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780939149070

Publisher:

N/A

Date of Addition:

11/16/06

Copyrighted By:

Niall Williams and Christine Breen

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Nonfiction, Travel, Biographies and Memoirs

Submitted By:

Amber W

Proofread By:

Lissi

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.