Talks With An Irish Farmer

This innovative study analyzes the range of representation of farming in Irish literature in the period since independence/partition in 1922, as Ireland moved from a largely agricultural to a developed urban society. In many different forms including poetry, drama, fiction, and autobiography, writers have made literary capital by looking back at their rural backgrounds, even where those may be a generation back. The first five chapters examine some of the key themes: the impact of inheritance on family in the patriarchal system where there could only be one male heir; the struggles for survival in the poorest regions of the West of Ireland; the uses of childhood farming memories whether idyllic or traumatic; and the representation of communities, challenging the homogeneous idealizing images of the Literary Revival; the impact of modernization on successive generations into the twenty-first century. The final three chapters are devoted to three major writers in whose work farming is central: Patrick Kavanagh, the small farmer who had to find an individual voice to express his own unique experience; John McGahern in whose fiction the life of the farm is always posited as alternative to a rootless urban milieu; and Seamus Heaney who re-imagined his farming childhood in so many different modes throughout his career. Farming in Modern Irish Literature yields original insights into the literary iconography of rural Ireland and its interplay with social and cultural history, opening up fresh vistas on the achievements of Irish writers in different genres, styles, and historical eras.

Everything your child needs to know about Irish farms! Did you know that there are almost 2,000,000 pigs in Ireland? And that sheep have rectangular pupils, which means they have amazing vision? Would you believe only 10 per cent of the milk produced in Ireland is consumed here? And that hens are pregnant for 21 days, but a horse can be pregnant for up to 345 days? How about the fact that despite our love of spuds, grass is Ireland's top crop, covering 3,700,000 hectares, while potatoes cover only 9,000 hectares? From the farmer's day to the changing of the seasons, from animals and crops to machinery and technology, and from ancient times to the modern day, The Great Irish Farm Book will take you on a fascinating journey through life on an Irish farm.

"What's sexier than an Irish farmer? Well, lots of things, actually, but they certainly aren't as cool, funny, or bring such infectious joy. For seven years, Ciara Ryan's hilarious Irish Farmers wall calendar has been one of the most popular calendars in Ireland. As of 2015, it is the #1 bestselling calendar beating out that of the previous champions, the world's biggest boy band, One Direction. And that's just in Ireland. So move over Awkward Family Pet Photos, Hot Guys and Baby Animals, Grandma's Dead: Breaking Bad News with Baby Animals, and Porn for Women. It's time for America to meet Irish Farmers, and a bunch of awesome animals, in book form.This funny and sweet full-color collection of 75 photos of young farmers naked from the waist up alongside their favorite livestock is sure to make a splash for St. Patrick's Day"--

For fans of The Shepherd’s Life, a poignant memoir—and #1 Irish bestseller—about a wayward son’s return home to his family’s farm, and how he found a new beginning in an age-old world Farming has been in John Connell's family for generations, but he never intended to follow in his father's footsteps. Until, one winter, after more than a decade away, he finds himself back on the farm. Connell records the hypnotic rhythm of the farming day—cleaning the barns, caring for the herd, tending to sickly lambs, helping the cows give birth. Alongside the routine events, there are the unforeseen moments when things go wrong: when a calf fails to thrive, when a sheep goes missing, when illness breaks out, when an argument between father and son erupts and things are said that cannot be unsaid. The Farmer’s Son is the story of a calving season, and the story of a man who emerges from depression to find hope in the place he least expected to find it. It is the story of Connell's life as a farmer, and of his relationship with the community of County Longford, with his faith, with the animals he tends, and, above all, with his father.

To many, Imen McDonnell’s life reads as a modern fairytale. Happily going about her business as a young American woman embarking upon a successful career in broadcast production, she was introduced to a dashing Irish farmer and fell instantly in love. In short order, Imen found herself leaving behind her work, her country, and her family and friends to start a life from scratch on a centuries-old family dairy farm in County Limerick. The Farmette Cookbook is more than just a cookbook, it’s a chronicle of Imen’s journey, embracing her new identity as a farmer’s wife, discovering new tastes, feeding her family, and finding her way around the Irish kitchen, where traditional cooking trumps quick and convenient. Here, Imen shares her tried-and-true classic Irish recipes, infused with a contemporary American twist: from her Best Brown Bread, Fish-’n’-Chip Pie, and Richard’s "Proper" Irish Coffee to Farmhouse Buttermilk Beignets, Hot-Smoked Burren Salmon Tacos, and an Irish Hedgerow Shandy. Highlighting farmhouse skills (such as butter and cheese making) and the use of local, wholesome ingredients, Imen invites us into her kitchen and her world, through stories and recipes, for a taste of the Irish countryside.

A charming and engaging children's non-fiction book filled with information on all aspects of farming in Ireland, presented in a light-hearted and child-friendly text. Original illustrations and photographs are featured throughout in an interactive layout.

In this enchanting new read in the fan-favorite series from a USA Today bestselling author, garda of County Cork, Ireland, Siobhán O’Sullivan and Macdaras Flannery, are about to get married at last. But just as the rowdy O’Sullivan brood and all the regulars of the local bistro have gathered at the church, the nuptials come to an abrupt halt when the discovery of an unidentified skeleton puts the wedding on pause… If only her mother could be here! The entire O’Sullivan brood—not to mention the regulars from Naomi’s Bistro—have gathered at St. Mary’s Church for the wedding of Siobhán and Macdara. It’s not every day you see two garda marrying each other. Only Siobhán’s brother James is missing. They can’t start without him. But when James finally comes racing in, he’s covered in dirt and babbling he’s found a human skeleton in the old slurry pit at the farmhouse. What farmhouse? Macdara sheepishly admits he was saving it as a wedding surprise: he purchased an abandoned dairy farm. Duty calls, so the engaged garda decide to put the wedding on hold to investigate. James leads them to a skeleton clothed in rags that resemble a tattered tuxedo. As an elderly neighbor approaches, she cries out that these must be the remains of her one true love who never showed up on their wedding day, fifty years ago. The garda have a cold case on their hands, which heats up the following day when a fresh corpse appears on top of the bridegroom’s bones. With a killer at large, they need to watch their backs—or the nearly wedded couple may be parted by death before they’ve even taken their vows. . . “Fans of charming Irish mysteries will delight in the ways this convoluted case ensnares the heroine and her supporting cast.” —Kirkus Reviews